Power Rangers Legend Wars Part IV: Ninja Steel
by Rocky505
Summary: 444 years after being sealed away by the Takayama Ninja Clan, a demon possessed man named Norio is set free. A ninja named Jirou, who was sealed away with Norio, must adapt to the new world with the help of one of his descendants. Using the legendary Power Stars and with the help from his new friends, Jirou hopes to lock Norio, now known as Galvanax, away for good.
1. Chapter 0

Chapter 0: The Demon King's Terror

Japan, 1573

Out in the forest, a young man in a shinobi uniform was cautiously walking through the forest. A gentle breeze occurred causing the leaves to begin stirring. The ninja pulled his sword out of its sheath hanging on his back and slowly began to turn around. Shurikens began flying past the trees towards the ninja in an instant. The ninja started knocking the shurikens away with his sword as he began backing up towards a tree. Other ninjas started dropping down from the branches above and landed silently on the ground. The five ninjas pulled out their swords and prepared for battle.

"Five on one?" The lone ninja said to the others. "I like these odds,"

The group of ninjas began running towards the lone ninja all at once. The lone ninja began snickering as he lowered his sword. A cloud of smoke popped up as one of the ninjas swung their sword at the lone ninja.

"He's gone!" One of the ninjas said in astonishment.

"Stay on your guard, he could show up at any moment," A ninja told the others as he snuck up to a tree.

All of a sudden, a chain wrapped around one of the ninja's ankles and pulled him up into the trees.

"What happened?" One of the ninjas said in confusion.

"He's trying to take us out one at a time," Another ninja said to his ally.

The lone ninja looked down at the remaining ninjas from the treetops.

"I don't need to take out one at a time," The ninja said to himself.

The lone ninja dropped down from the trees and kicked one of the ninjas into another. The two ninjas fell to the ground as their two remaining allies began throwing shurikens at the lone ninja. The lone ninja blocked the shurikens with his sword as he ran towards the attackers.

"Pathetic!" The lone ninja shouted as he slid between the two ninjas and tripped them by grabbing their ankles and pulling them down with him.

The lone ninja quickly jumped back to his feet and saw one of the ninjas rise back to their feet.

"Really?" The ninja said in disbelief.

The other ninja pulled out a kunai attached to a chain and began preparing to throw it at the lone ninja.

"Ha!" The ninja shouted as he threw the kunai towards the lone ninja.

The lone ninja corkscrew flipped to the side and dodged the kunai. The kunai jabbed into the tree that was behind the ninja. The lone ninja cut the chain with his sword as the other ninja began pulling on it. The end of the chain flew back and hit the ninja in the face. The ninja fell to the ground unconscious leaving only the lone ninja standing.

"This is too easy," The lone ninja said as he pulled his mask off.

Another ninja stepped out from behind a tree and pulled his mask off revealing that he was an old man.

"Grandfather, why can't you let me train with father and his men?" The young man asked his grandfather.

"Because you still have a lot to learn Jirou," The old man told his grandson.

Jirou's grandfather looked over at his grandson with a look of disappointment on his face.

"What?" Jirou said in confusion.

A ninja suddenly fell down from the tree above and hit the ground behind Jirou. Jirou looked over his shoulder and saw the ninja he chained to a branch earlier.

"You're supposed to learn the way our clan battles, not making up your own mess," Jirou's grandfather told him.

"I have learned how to fight with our style already!" Jirou told his grandfather. "I want to expand my knowledge and style with my own techniques,"

Jirou's grandfather sighed as he looked over towards the sun setting.

"Maybe one day I will let you train with our better men, but that won't be today," Jirou's grandfather told him. "It's getting late,"

Jirou's grandfather began walking away as the other ninjas started getting up.

"Grandfather just doesn't understand," Jirou said to himself. "I'm not a kid anymore,"

Jirou punched a tree in frustration.

"I'll never be ready for war at this rate," Jirou said to himself as he began walking in the same direction his grandfather went.

Later that night, Jirou was sitting outside on a rock next to a pond by himself. Jirou looked down at the water and saw the moon's reflection. Jirou sighed with a look of disappointment on his face.

"Grandfather, why can't you understand me?" Jirou asked himself. "I want to make our clan stronger,"

Jirou grabbed a rock lying on the ground and stepped off the large rock he was sitting on. Jirou screamed in anger and threw the rock in his hand into the pond.

"When I become the Grandmaster I will make our generation the greatest clan in the world," Jirou said as he sat back down.

A young woman walked up to the fence and saw Jirou staring at the night sky.

"Why're you still out here?" The woman asked Jirou.

Jirou turned around and saw the woman open the gate.

"Kiyomi!" Jirou said in astonishment.

"Did your grandfather anger you again?" Kiyomi asked Jirou.

"He just doesn't understand," Jirou said as he turned away.

Kiyomi picked up a rock off the ground.

"I think neither of you do," Kiyomi said as she tossed the rock at the pond.

The rock skipped across the pond and sank as it reached the middle of the pond.

"What do you mean?" Jirou asked Kiyomi.

"Your grandfather still treats you like a child, but he forgets that his grandson is about to start his own family," Kiyomi told Jirou.

Kiyomi walked over to Jirou and wrapped her arms around his left arm.

"And you want to change the tradition of the clan's style," Kiyomi told Jirou.

"What's wrong with that?" Jirou asked Kiyomi.

"One of these days, your grandfather will have to step down," Kiyomi said to Jirou. "Your father will then take over, correct?"

"Yeah, but what if he acts the same way?" Jirou asked Kiyomi.

"He needs someone strong to be next in line," Kiyomi said as she poked Jirou's nose.

"So I just need to be patient," Jirou said to Kiyomi.

"Come on, it's getting cold out here," Kiyomi told Jirou as she began pulling him away from the pond.

Jirou and Kiyomi walked passed the gate and headed back inside.

Early the next morning, Jirou was sitting on a tree branch watching the sun rise over the horizon in his uniform.

"It's beautiful isn't it?" Jirou's grandfather said to Jirou.

Jirou screamed in astonishment and slipped off the branch and fell to the ground. His grandfather landed on the ground chuckling.

"What was that for?" Jirou asked his grandfather.

"Come with me," Jirou's grandfather said as he walked by Jirou.

"Why?" Jirou said in confusion as he began following his grandfather.

"Be quiet, I don't want anyone else following us," Jirou's grandfather said to Jirou as he kept walking.

"What's so secret that you won't tell father about it?" Jirou asked his grandfather.

"I'm not going to tell you again," Jirou's grandfather said to Jirou.

Jirou and his grandfather came up to a rock wall covered in vines. Jirou's grandfather tore the vines down and revealed an indent in the wall. Jirou's grandfather took off his necklace and revealed a shuriken hanging on it.

"Your father gave that to you didn't he?" Jirou asked his grandfather.

"Yes, and you're about to see why," Jirou's grandfather said as he inserted the shuriken into the indent.

The wall began rumbling as Jirou and his grandfather stepped back away from it. Part of the wall slid to the side and revealed an opening in the wall.

"Come," Jirou's grandfather said to Jirou as he headed towards the opening.

Jirou followed his grandfather into the cave where torches lined up on the walls.

"What is this place?" Jirou asked his grandfather.

"A place that has been passed down our family for generations," Jirou's grandfather told him as they came to the end of the path.

Jirou's eyes widened in amazement when he saw a large room lit up with torches. Around the room were statues of past grandmasters of the clan. In the center of the room was a sheathed sword lying on a pedestal. Jirou's grandfather walked up to the center of the room as Jirou walked over to one of the statues.

"Who is this?" Jirou said in confusion.

Jirou's grandfather looked over and saw Jirou looking at a statue.

"That is my great grandfather," Jirou's grandfather told Jirou.

"Why isn't there a death date?" Jirou asked his grandfather.

"Because he's not dead," Jirou's grandfather told Jirou.

Jirou stepped away from the statue and walked over to his grandfather.

"How is he not dead?" Jirou said in confusion.

"He was cursed by a demon," Jirou's grandfather told him. "He was chosen to become the new King of Demons,"

"Then where is he?" Jirou asked his grandfather.

"Sealed away for eternity," Jirou's grandfather said as he turned away.

"The ancient sealing technique was what did it?" Jirou asked his grandfather.

His grandfather nodded.

"Now, come over here," Jirou's grandfather said to Jirou.

Jirou walked over to the pedestal and saw the sword lying on it. Jirou's grandfather picked up the sword and pulled it out of its sheath. He turned towards Jirou and held the sword out to him.

"This sword is legendary," Jirou's grandfather told Jirou.

"It looks normal to me," Jirou said as he shrugged his shoulders.

Jirou's grandfather slapped Jirou upside the head.

"Ow," Jirou said in pain as he rubbed the side of his head.

"It's made of ninja steel you idiot!" Jirou's grandfather said to Jirou in annoyance.

"Ninja steel?" Jirou said in confusion.

"The steel of this blade is strong enough to cut through anything, even other metal," Jirou's grandfather told Jirou.

Jirou's grandfather handed the sword to Jirou in its sheath.

"Your father never impressed me as much as you have," Jirou's grandfather told him. "That is why I'm giving it to you, and not him,"

"I don't know what to say," Jirou said in amazement.

"Don't worry, one day you will be in my position as grandmaster," Jirou's grandfather told Jirou. "Starting today, I will allow you to train with your father and his men,"

Jirou's eyes widened in disbelief.

"Are you serious?" Jirou asked his grandfather.

"Yes, now go get to training," Jirou's grandfather told Jirou.

Jirou jumped in excitement and quickly ran off out of the cave. Jirou's grandfather looked over at the statue of his great grandfather.

"Hopefully that seal will last long enough for the boy to grow up," Jirou's grandfather said to himself.

Out in the plains was a large rock with multiple shurikens stuck on it. One of the shurikens shattered into pieces and fell to the ground. A faint evil laugh could be heard coming from the rock.

Jirou came walking back up to the village with his new sword hanging on his back in its sheath. A little boy looked over and saw Jirou approaching. The boy jumped in excitement and took off running towards Jirou.

"Jirou!" The little boy shouted as he ran up to Jirou.

"Hey little brother," Jirou said as he ruffled up his brother's hair with his hand. "Do you know where dad and his men went to train?"

"I think they went towards the mountains north of the village," Jirou's little brother told Jirou.

"Thanks Seiji," Jirou said to his brother as he kept walking.

"See you later Jirou," Seiji said as he ran off with another boy that ran by.

Jirou walked past the garden where some of the women of the village were working. Kiyomi looked over and saw Jirou walk by the gate. Kiyomi sat her basket down and began walking towards Jirou.

"Where are you off to?" Kiyomi asked Jirou.

"I'm heading north to the mountains where father and his men are training," Jirou told Kiyomi. "Grandfather has allowed me to start training with them,"

"That's great!" Kiyomi said as she smiled.

"But I better get going or I won't get any training at all today," Jirou told Kiyomi. "I don't want to be stuck under a waterfall all day again,"

"Alright, I'll see you later," Kiyomi said as Jirou began walking away.

Jirou continued on down a path that led out of the village and kept going towards the mountains.

Out in the forest, Jirou's grandfather was sitting on a rock meditating. The wind suddenly began blowing harshly causing a branch to break off of a tree nearby. Jirou's grandfather opened his eyes and looked up at the mountain to the south of the village. Dark clouds began forming above the mountain. Lightning struck down from the dark clouds and hit the mountaintop.

"Impossible, it can't be today," Jirou's grandfather said to himself as he jumped off the rock.

"Master Takayama!" A ninja shouted as he ran up to Jirou's grandfather.

"What is it?" Master Takayama asked the ninja.

"That storm isn't coming towards the village is it?" The ninja asked him.

"That's not a storm," Master Takayama told the ninja.

"Then what is it?" The ninja said in confusion.

"An awakening," Master Takayama told the ninja as the clouds began spreading.

"What kind of awakening?" The ninja said in confusion.

"Don't worry about that," Master Takayama said as he walked by the ninja. "Just start getting the women and children to safety,"

"Yes master," The ninja said as he bowed.

The ninja took off towards the village as the clouds began making their way to the village. Master Takayama looked back at the clouds and sighed.

"We're not ready for this," He said to himself.

Out in the plains behind the mountain to the south, each of the shurikens stuck in the rock began crumbling to pieces. A large crack suddenly appeared on the rock. An evil laughter began occurring as the rock continued cracking. The rock suddenly exploded into pieces and revealed an armored demon where the rock was sitting.

"I Norio Takayama, the Demon King, have returned!" The demon shouted as he raised his hands in the air.

Dark clouds began forming in the sky and instantly started spreading out into the distance.

"Rise my soldiers!" Norio shouted as shadowy figures began rising from the ground around him. "It is time to take back what was mine!"

Norio began walking towards the village with his demon soldiers following behind him.

"Not even a dumb magic trick can stop me this time!" Norio shouted as he continued marching with his soldiers.

To the north of the village, Jirou was continuing down the path on his way to catch up to his father and his men. Thunder began rumbling in the sky causing Jirou to come to a halt. Jirou turned around and saw the dark clouds moving towards the village.

"Looks like the village is about to get a little wet," Jirou said as he chuckled.

"Jirou!" Someone shouted out loud.

Jirou looked down the path and saw Kiyomi running down the path.

"What're you doing out here?" Jirou asked Kiyomi.

"It's awful," Kiyomi told Jirou as she breathed heavily.

"What's going on?" Jirou asked Kiyomi as he grabbed her by the shoulders.

"The village is under attack," Kiyomi told Jirou. "Your grandfather and the other men are stalling the intruders to give everyone a chance to escape,"

"Oh no!" Jirou said in horror.

"Where are you going?" Kiyomi asked Jirou as Jirou began running away.

"Grandfather needs more help and Seiji is still at the village!" Jirou told Kiyomi. "Keep following the path towards the mountain and find my father!"

Jirou ran off towards the village leaving Kiyomi behind.

"Be careful," Kiyomi said with a worrisome look on her face.

Kiyomi turned towards the mountain and began running along the path to find Jirou's father.

Grandmaster Takayama was fighting off a horde of the demon soldiers alongside a group of ninjas. Grandmaster Takayama sliced through one of the soldiers with his sword and kicked the remains aside.

"They keep coming!" A ninja shouted as he backed away from the approaching demon soldiers.

"Don't fall back; we can't let these monsters hurt anyone!" Grandmaster Takayama shouted as he struck another demon soldier with his sword.

Grandmaster Takayama looked out in the distance and saw a group of the demon soldiers aiming bows into the air.

"Find cover!" Grandmaster Takayama shouted as the demon soldiers fired the arrows into the air.

Grandmaster Takayama grabbed a shield from one of the dead soldiers and held it above his head. Arrows began stabbing into the shield as they rained down on the edge of the village. The Grandmaster looked around and saw many of his men lying on the ground with arrows in their bodies.

"Your people are weak," Someone said to Grandmaster Takayama.

"I had a feeling you were behind this, great grandfather," Grandmaster Takayama said as he looked over and saw Norio.

"You have run this clan into the ground Yuudai," Norio said to the Grandmaster.

"You have no right to be back here," Yuudai told Norio.

"Oh, and who's going to make me leave?" Norio asked Yuudai as he pulled out a sword.

Yuudai tossed the shield aside and prepared for battle. Norio began approaching Yuudai snickering. Norio suddenly came to a halt and saw a little boy crying.

"Norio, don't!" Yuudai shouted as he saw Norio beginning to walk towards the boy. "That's my grandson!"

"That makes things better then," Norio said as he went to grab Seiji.

"Leave me alone!" Seiji shouted in horror as he began kicking at Norio.

An arrow struck Norio's helmet and bounced off.

"What was that?" Norio said in confusion as he looked over.

Jirou leapt over a fence and fired another arrow from a bow at Norio. Norio caught the arrow with ease and broke it in half.

"Who do you think you are boy?" Norio asked Jirou.

"I'm the one that will seal you away for good," Jirou said as he tossed the bow aside.

"Don't act foolish around him Jirou," Yuudai said to his grandson. "He is far stronger than any of us,"

Jirou snickered as he walked up to his grandfather.

"He's not stronger than all of us together," Jirou said as he pulled out his sword.

"That sword!" Norio said in astonishment.

"Jirou, do not let him take that sword," Yuudai told Jirou.

"Give it to me boy, or I will have to take it by force," Norio said to Jirou.

"Here you can have it!" Jirou shouted as he took off running towards Norio.

Jirou swung the sword at Norio as he ran up to him. Norio leaned to the side and dodged the attack.

"You will regret attacking me!" Norio shouted as he backhanded Jirou.

Jirou was sent flying past Yuudai from the hit. Jirou crashed into the side of a house and fell to the ground in pain.

"Jirou!" Yuudai shouted in concern.

"Now where was I?" Norio said to himself as he looked back over where Seiji was sitting.

Seiji took off running away in horror.

"You brat!" Norio shouted as his right hand began glowing.

Jirou looked up and saw Norio fire a blast from his hand.

"Seiji!" Jirou shouted as he saw the blast fly towards Seiji.

Yuudai jumped in front of the blast and was hit in the chest by the blast.

"No!" Jirou shouted as he struggled to get up.

Norio walked up to Yuudai and kicked him in the side.

"You foolish old man," Norio said as he picked Yuudai up by the arm.

"Stop, leave him alone!" Jirou shouted as he got to his feet.

Norio took his sword and stabbed it through Yuudai's chest. Jirou's eyes widened in horror as his grandfather began screaming in pain. Norio pulled his sword out of Yuudai and tossed him aside bleeding to death.

"Grandfather!" Jirou shouted as he began running towards Yuudai's body.

Jirou screamed in anger as he went to strike Norio with his sword. A demon soldier stepped out in front of Norio and took the hit for him.

"You pathetic brat!" Norio shouted as he kicked Jirou in the chest and sent him skidding across the ground.

Norio began making his way to Jirou to obtain the sword.

"It will finally be mine!" Norio said as he went to grab the sword.

A smoke cloud suddenly appeared near Jirou's body.

"That's not going to help you escape!" Norio shouted as he swung his sword and blew the smoke away.

Norio gasped in astonishment when he saw no one in front of him.

"Start searching for him!" Norio shouted to his minions. "I want that sword!"

Outside of the village a ninja was carrying an unconscious Jirou over his shoulder. The ninja looked back at the village and saw smoke floating into the air as the village continued burning. The ninja continued on down the path with Jirou.

The ninja carrying Jirou walked up to a cave being guarded by two ninjas. The ninja walked past the two ninjas and made his way into the cave with Jirou over his shoulder. He walked into a large room inside the cave where many people from the village were waiting for something.

"Is he okay?" Kiyomi asked the ninja as she walked up to him.

The ninja laid Jirou on the ground and knelt down beside him.

"He's still alive, don't worry," The ninja said as he took his mask off.

"Ichirou," A ninja said as he walked over to Kiyomi and the other ninja.

"What is it?" Ichirou asked the ninja as he looked over.

"Was he the only survivor?" The ninja asked Ichirou.

"I'm afraid so," Ichirou said as he looked down at his son lying on the ground unconscious.

People in the cave began gasping.

"Wait, the Grandmaster is dead?" A woman asked Ichirou.

"Is that true?" A ninja said as he stepped forward. "Then who is in charge now?"

Ichirou rose to his feet and clenched his right fist.

"It will be me who takes over as Grandmaster," Ichirou said as he placed his hand over his heart.

"Are you ready for this Ichirou?" A ninja asked Ichirou.

"Father has trained me for many years," Ichirou said to everyone. "I will make sure that demon falls after what he did to our homes,"

"But our numbers have dwindled to low numbers," A ninja told Ichirou.

"Remember, my ancestors made this clan to protect those in need," Ichirou told everyone in the cave. "We're not killers, we kill killers,"

Jirou slowly opened his eyes and saw Kiyomi leaning over him.

"Where am I?" Jirou said in confusion.

"Jirou!" Kiyomi said in relief as she hugged Jirou.

"What's going on?" Jirou said in confusion as he leaned up.

"Jirou, can you still fight?" Ichirou asked his son.

"I'm still alive aren't I?" Jirou said as he smirked.

Jirou was helped to his feet by Kiyomi.

"That demon Norio will pay after what he did to grandfather," Jirou said as he clenched his fist.

Ichirou turned back towards the crowd of people.

"Later tonight, we will strike back at those demons," Ichirou told everyone. "However, the women and children will remain here for safety,"

"So how're we going to stop Norio?" Jirou asked his father.

"The same way your grandfather's grandfather did," Ichirou said as he revealed a pouch in his hand.

Ichirou opened the bag and pulled out a shuriken with Japanese writing on it.

"This shuriken was forged for this very day," Ichirou told everyone. "It will seal Norio away once and for all!"

"Do you even know how to use that?" Jirou asked his father.

"Yes, your grandfather taught me when I was younger," Ichirou told Jirou as he turned towards him.

Ichirou put his hand on Jirou's shoulder.

"But I won't be able to battle since I will have to prepare the technique," Ichirou told Jirou. "That's why I want you to lead the last of our men into battle against those soldiers of Norio's,"

"Are you serious?" Jirou said in confusion.

"You will be fine, trust me," Ichirou told Jirou as he smiled. "I believe in you,"

Ichirou then turned back to the crowd.

"I want every man to gather up equipment and to be ready for battle," Ichirou said to everyone. "Because tonight, we will stand tall over the remains of these demons,"

The crowd began roaring in celebration and began clapping.

"Hey, did Seiji make it back?" Jirou asked Kiyomi.

"Yeah, he's over there," Kiyomi said as she pointed over at the corner of the cave.

Jirou looked over and saw Seiji cuddled up in the corner.

"I'm going to go talk to him," Jirou said to Kiyomi.

"Alright," Kiyomi said as Jirou walked over towards Seiji.

Jirou walked over to Seiji and sat down next to him.

"Are you okay?" Jirou asked Seiji.

"Leave me alone," Seiji said as he turned away.

"You're not hurt are you?" Jirou asked Seiji.

"No, but I don't want anyone to mess with me," Seiji told Jirou.

Jirou sighed and rose back to his feet.

"Seiji, I know you're blaming yourself about what happened to grandfather," Jirou said to Seiji.

"No I'm not," Seiji said as he hid his face.

"Stop lying, that's disrespectful," Jirou said to Seiji. "It wasn't your fault!"

"Yes it was!" Seiji shouted back at Jirou. "I should have left when I was first told to,"

Jirou slapped Seiji across the face. Seiji's eyes began watering as he started whimpering.

"Blaming yourself is only going to make the rest of your life a living hell," Jirou told Seiji. "You are a member of the Takayama family, and we fight strong until we breathe our last breath,"

Seiji slowly nodded and wiped the tears off his face.

"Now come on and talk with father before he and I leave," Jirou told Seiji as he held his hand out.

Seiji took Jirou's hand and was helped off the ground.

"I don't want to lose you and father too," Seiji said to Jirou.

"Don't worry, neither of us are going anywhere," Jirou told Seiji. "We'll be back, I promise,"

Jirou hugged Seiji as their father walked over to them.

"Jirou, we need to get prepared," Ichirou told Jirou.

"Stay with Kiyomi," Jirou told Seiji.

Seiji nodded as Jirou backed away from him. Ichirou and Jirou walked away from Seiji and went to prepare for battle.

"In order for me to execute the technique, Norio will need to be close by," Ichirou told Jirou.

"And what if he's not?" Jirou asked Ichirou.

"Then he'll have a huge opportunity to finish the remains of our clan off," Ichirou told Jirou.

"I'll get him near you, I promise," Jirou said as he picked up a bow leaning against the wall.

"Remember, stay calm," Ichirou told Jirou. "Your anger will only make your skills suffer,"

"Father, I'll be fine," Jirou said as he smirked.

Ichirou sighed as Jirou began walking away.

"Don't screw up," Ichirou said as he watched Jirou walk away.

Later that night, Ichirou and a group of the remaining ninjas were standing outside of the cave. Ichirou looked back inside the cave and saw Jirou approaching him and the others. Jirou joined the group and looked out in the distance at the destroyed village.

"Look what that demon did," Ichirou said to everyone. "He destroyed our homes and our gardens,"

Ichirou pulled his sword out of the sheath on his back and raised it into the air.

"We're not going to stand by and let this demon do this to anyone else!" Ichirou shouted.

Ichirou turned towards the village and pointed his sword towards it.

"I don't care if you're leg gets sliced off," Ichirou said to everyone. "If you're still breathing, you can still fight!"

The men standing behind Ichirou began cheering. Jirou pulled his mask over his head as the men continued yelling.

"Now let's go lock this asshole away again!" Ichirou shouted as he began walking towards the remains of the village.

The men began following Ichirou leaving Jirou behind. Jirou took in a deep breath and soon let it back out.

"I can do this," Jirou said to himself as he began walking. "Don't worry grandfather, we won't let that demon hurt anyone else,"

A few minutes later, Ichirou came to a halt letting the other men pass him. Ichirou saw Jirou walk by and grabbed him by the shoulder.

"What?" Jirou asked his father.

"Be careful out there," Ichirou said to Jirou.

"Father, we can't be too careful in this battle," Jirou said as he began walking away.

Ichirou stayed back with three other ninjas as Jirou and the others went on ahead.

"He's growing up," One of the ninjas said to Ichirou.

"I know," Ichirou said as he stepped off the path and went into hiding.

Down in the village, Norio's soldiers were walking around patrolling the area. One of the soldiers walked over towards a bush and took position in front of it. One of the ninjas wrapped a chain around the soldier's neck and quickly pulled it into the bushes. Another soldier looked over at the bushes and slowly began approaching towards them with a readied bow in his hand. As the soldier walked up to the bush an arrow struck him in the head. The soldier fell to the ground with an arrow sticking out of his head and caught the others attention. The soldiers suddenly began falling one after another as arrows began flying into the village striking them to the ground. An alarm bell began ringing causing more of the soldiers to run into the area.

"What's going on out here?" Norio asked his soldiers as he walked out of the remains of the grandmaster's house.

Norio looked over and saw multiple soldiers lying on the ground dead.

"So they've returned," Norio said as he snickered. "I knew they would,"

Jirou silently climbed on top of the remains of a house and pulled his sword out.

"Soldiers, prepare your weapons!" Norio shouted as he pulled out his sword.

The soldiers began pulling out rifles and started scouting the area.

"Firearms!" Jirou said in disbelief.

Norio looked out of the corner of his eye and saw Jirou peeking down from a rooftop.

"Fire!" Norio shouted as he pointed his sword at Jirou.

Jirou's eyes widened as he quickly slid off the roof. A soldier jumped out around the corner and startled Jirou

"Move out of the way!" Jirou shouted as he struck the demon with his sword.

The soldier fell to the ground and crumbled to dust.

"Whoa!" Jirou said in amazement.

Three soldiers walked around the corner behind Jirou and saw him standing at the opposite corner. The soldiers aimed their rifles at Jirou and prepared to fire at him. Jirou looked over his shoulder and saw the soldiers. He dove aside as the soldiers fired the rifles. The shots from the rifles hit the ground and missed Jirou. Jirou ran out in front of the soldiers and quickly threw a handful of shurikens at them. A shuriken struck one of the soldiers in the left hand and got stuck in a nearby wall.

"Your guns won't help you," Jirou said as he ran up and sliced the guns in half with his sword.

Jirou struck down two of the soldiers with his sword and destroyed. The last soldier began reaching for Jirou but was stuck to the wall. Jirou walked up to the soldier and stabbed it through the stomach with his sword.

"Find that damn ninja!" Norio shouted as the soldier just killed crumbled away.

Jirou took off running away from the area and went into hiding. A soldier ran around to the back of the house and saw the remains of the soldier Jirou fought. A dart instantly struck the soldier's neck and caused the soldier to begin stumbling around.

"What's going on back here?" Norio said in confusion as he walked around the corner.

The soldier fell to the ground unconscious in front of Norio.

"That's it; I'm sick of playing hide and seek!" Norio shouted as he fired a blast towards the trees.

The blast passed by the trees nearby and instantly incinerated them. Jirou fell to the ground in the ashes from the burnt trees in front of Norio.

"You ninjas are no match for my army," Norio said as a group of his soldiers ran up beside him.

The soldiers aimed their rifles at Jirou as Norio began snickering.

"Before you kill me, can I say something?" Jirou asked Norio.

"Fine, but you'll be dead as soon as you're done," Norio told Jirou.

Jirou put his sword back in its sheath.

"I hate firearms," Jirou said as he took a step back.

Arrows began flying past Jirou and took out the soldier standing next to Norio. A group of ninjas ran up next to Jirou and stood before Norio.

"I don't care how many of you there are," Norio said as he grunted. "You can't kill me,"

Jirou tossed a small ball at Norio's face. The ball exploded and covered the area around Norio in smoke.

"You brat!" Norio shouted in anger as the smoke cleared.

Norio looked over and saw that the ninjas were gone.

"You cannot hide from me!" Norio shouted as he stormed off.

Jirou looked down at Norio from the top of a house and saw that he was enraged.

"None of our weapons will work on him," One ninja said to Jirou.

"Yes, one will," Jirou said as he pulled his sword out.

"What're you doing?" A ninja asked Jirou.

"Setting up the bait," Jirou said as he jumped off the roof.

Jirou silently began running towards Norio with his sword in hand.

"That kid is going to get himself killed!" A ninja said to the others.

"He's the grandmaster's son," Another ninja said to the other. "I'm sure whatever he has planned will end up working,"

A ninja looked out in the distance and saw a horde of Norio's soldiers approaching the village.

"Well, if we don't do something about those guys, I don't think he'll have a chance," The ninja told the others.

"I'll go get Ichirou and tell him to bring the others closer," One of the ninjas told the others.

The ninja leapt off the roof and took off up the path. Jirou ran up behind Norio and went to stab him with his sword. Norio quickly turned around and shoved Jirou aside. Jirou fell into the mud on the ground and dropped his sword.

"Running up behind someone is very disrespectful," Norio said to Jirou. "I thought your grandfather would've taught you that,"

Jirou quickly rose up with a shuriken in his hand and went to throw it at Norio. One of the soldiers fired their rifle and shot Jirou in the shoulder. Jirou fell back to the ground grasping his shoulder and screaming in pain.

"You fool!" Norio shouted as he stomped on Jirou's wounded shoulder.

Jirou screamed even louder in pain as rain began pouring down from the sky.

"It's time for you to join your grandfather in hell," Norio said as he picked up Jirou by the arm.

Norio's remaining soldiers walked into the village and stood around Norio as he held Jirou up.

"What better way to kill you than with your own blade," Norio said as a soldier handed him Jirou's sword.

"You're not going to win," Jirou told Norio.

Norio began laughing.

"Really?" Norio said as he continued laughing. "Then who will stop me?"

"You will fall exactly how you did many years ago," Jirou said to Norio.

Norio screamed in anger and went to stab Jirou with his own sword. Arrows began raining down from the sky and began taking out the soldiers one after another. Norio looked around in astonishment at his soldiers falling to the ground.

"What is the meaning of this?" Norio said in confusion.

Jirou kicked the sword out of Norio's hand while he was caught off guard.

"Hey!" Norio shouted in anger as he watched the sword fall to the ground.

Shurikens began striking Norio one after another. Norio dropped Jirou and looked down at the shurikens sticking out of his armor.

"No, these markings!" Norio said in horror.

Jirou grabbed his sword off the ground as more shurikens struck Norio.

"I'm going to make sure you never come back!" Jirou shouted as he went to stab Norio.

Jirou's sword stabbed through Norio's armor and came out of his back. Norio screamed in pain as he quickly swatted Jirou aside. Jirou crashed into the wall of a house and fell to the ground.

"Don't let him get away!" Ichirou shouted as he ran up with the other ninjas.

Ichirou pulled out the sealing shuriken and revealed that it was glowing with a golden aura.

"I will not return to that hell hole!" Norio shouted as he began firing blasts at the ninjas.

Ichirou dove to the ground and avoided the blasts along with the other ninjas.

"Throw it at him now!" A ninja shouted at Ichirou.

"I can't yet," Ichirou said to the ninja. "Norio won't give me a chance,"

Jirou slowly rose to his feet and took off running towards Norio.

"Jirou, stop!" Ichirou shouted as he saw Jirou run by.

Jirou ran up to Norio and grabbed his sword. He quickly slid in between Norio's legs and pulled his sword out of Norio's body.

"You little brat!" Norio shouted as Jirou climbed on his back.

Jirou stabbed his sword through Norio's shoulder as he held onto Norio's back.

"Father, now's your chance!" Jirou shouted as he began twisting his sword.

Norio screamed in pain as his wounds began glowing.

"He's healing Ichirou!" A ninja shouted at Ichirou.

"You have to throw that shuriken now!" Jirou shouted to his father.

"I'm not going to lose you Jirou!" Ichirou shouted at his son.

"Please father, I don't want anyone else to die!" Jirou shouted at his father. "Keep the village safe!"

"I won't," Ichirou said as he lowered the shuriken.

"You moron, just throw it already!" A ninja shouted at Ichirou.

"You won't stop me," Norio said as he began reaching for Jirou.

Jirou pulled his sword out of Norio's shoulder and stabbed him again through the back. Norio screamed in pain as he fell to one knee.

"I can't hold him down forever!" Jirou shouted to his father.

"I won't let you be locked away with him!" Ichirou shouted to Jirou.

"Father, you're going to get us all killed if you don't do what's right," Seiji said to his father as he ran up behind him.

Ichirou looked back at Seiji and saw him walk up. Seiji grabbed his father's leg and began crying.

"Even if we lose Jirou, the village will still be safe from Norio," Seiji told his father.

Ichirou sighed and turned back towards Norio.

"Goodbye," Ichirou said to Jirou as he raised the shuriken back into the air.

"Kiyomi, I'm sorry," Jirou said as he began dozing off.

Ichirou threw the shuriken at Norio as it began glowing brightly.

"No!" Norio shouted as he saw the shuriken flying towards him.

The shuriken struck Norio in the chest and engulfed Norio and Jirou in a harsh bright light. As Norio continued screamed rocks began rising out of the ground and started covering Norio and Jirou.

"Jirou!" Ichirou shouted as tears began running down his face.

The rocks fully covered up Norio and Jirou sealing them away. The light faded and revealed a large boulder with shurikens stuck all around it. Ichirou fell to his knees as the rain slacked off. He began crying in agony as he punched the ground.

"You didn't have to do that Jirou," Ichirou said as he continued crying.

Seiji hugged his father as he began crying.

"He saved us all daddy," Seiji told his father.

"He would've been a great grandmaster," One of the ninjas said as he knelt down.

Ichirou continued crying as the night sky cleared up above the village.

"I'll miss you big brother," Seiji said as he looked over at the boulder sticking out of the ground.

444 years later(2017)

Out in the forest somewhere in Japan, an alien walked up to a large rock covered in vines. The alien tore the vines off the rock and revealed a shuriken sticking out of it. The alien then tore away more of the vines and found a plate with writing on it.

"Here lies the demon king who once ruled over all of Japan," The alien said to himself as he read the plate.

The alien suddenly began snickering.

"Oops," The alien said as he zapped one of the shurikens with a blast from his finger.

The shuriken shattered to pieces. The alien continued destroying the rest of the shurikens laughing in enjoyment. Soon the ground began rumbling. The alien stepped back from the boulder as it began cracking. The boulder crumbled to pieces and filled the area with a dust cloud.

"Ugh," The alien said as he wafted the dust away from his face.

The dust cleared and revealed Norio lying on the ground unconscious.

"Hmm, you will make a great champion to participate in my games," The alien said as he looked down at Norio.

A light shined down from the sky and caused the alien and Norio to instantly vanish. The alien and Norio then appeared in a strange room with bright lights shining down on them.

"What's this?" The alien said in confusion a she noticed something underneath Norio.

The alien rolled Norio over and revealed Jirou lying on the ground unconscious.

"Ugh, it's just a weak human," The alien said as he walked over to a control panel.

"I'll drop him off at the nearest piece of land," The alien said as he pressed a button.

Jirou's body began glowing and vanished within the blink of an eye. The alien looked over at Norio's body and began snickering.

"Let the games begin," He said as Norio opened his eyes.

Out on the beach, Jirou was lying in the sand unconscious with blood running from his wounded shoulder. Suddenly a girl came walking by and saw a sword sticking out of the ground.

"Whoa, this thing is ancient!" The girl said in amazement as she pulled the sword out of the ground.

She began looking around in confusion.

"But why would this just be sitting out here?" She asked herself.

The girl then looked over and saw Jirou lying in the sand. She gasped and quickly ran over to Jirou.

"Hey, are you okay?" She asked Jirou as she knelt down beside him.

Jirou didn't respond.

"He's hurt," The girl said as she noticed his shoulder.

The girl then took a closer look at his ninja uniform.

"And apparently, he's a ninja," The girl said as she backed away from Jirou. "Weird,"

The girl pulled out her phone and quickly dialed a number.

"Hey, Mr. Hitoshi, I need your help right now," The girl said to the person she called. "It's an emergency,"

The girl looked over at Jirou with a look of concern on her face.

"This guy is badly hurt and I don't think a hospital would take him," The girl said to the person.

The girl picked up the sword and looked closely at.

"Trust me, you won't believe what I found," The girl said to the person she called.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Modern Day Ninja

*Brackets() are used when a person is speaking in a different language, in this case, Japanese.*

In the city of Dorado Bay, people were living their normal lives. Crowds were walking down the street minding their own business when a SUV came speeding around the corner. Inside of the SUV was a middle aged man driving the vehicle. The man looked in the rearview mirror and saw a blonde haired girl sitting in the very back watching over someone.

"How's he doing?" The man asked the girl.

"He's still bleeding," The girl said as she continued pressing a rag against an unconscious boy's shoulder.

"I told Jun to have a spot ready," The man said to the girl.

"Good," The girl said as she looked towards the front of the vehicle.

"First we make sure he lives," The man said to the girl. "Then we'll take a look at that sword,"

The man quickly turned the SUV into an alley next to an antique shop and parked the car.

"Alright Beth let's get him inside," The man said as he walked around to the back of the SUV and opened the back door.

Beth crawled out the back door and began helping the man pull the injured boy out of the car.

"Easy," The man said to Beth as the two of them pulled the boy out.

A door to the antique shop suddenly came open. A girl poked her head out and saw Beth helping the man carry the boy.

"What is that guy wearing?" The girl said in confusion.

"Some kind of gi, but he needs help fast," The man said to the girl.

"Don't worry dad, I have a place ready in the back," The girl told her father.

"Thanks sweetie," The man said to his daughter as he and Beth walked inside.

The man sat the boy down on a table and began putting pressure on the bloody rag covering the boy's wound.

"Where's the first-aid kit?" The man asked Beth and his daughter.

"Right here Mr. Hitoshi," Beth said as she grabbed a box off the desk behind her.

Beth handed the first-aid kit to Mr. Hitoshi and watched as he quickly opened it.

"Let me handle this," Mr. Hitoshi said to the girls.

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Jun asked her father.

"Yes, I can do this on my own," Mr. Hitoshi said as he began cleaning the wound with peroxide.

"Alright, we'll be up front if you need us," Beth said as she and Jun walked out of the room.

Beth closed the door behind her and sighed.

"What's wrong with you?" Jun asked Beth as she sat down behind the counter.

"I wonder why someone like him was out on the beach," Beth said to Jun.

"Who knows," Jun said as she pulled out her phone. "We'll have to wait until he wakes up to find out,"

"Yeah, that's true," Beth said as she sat down in a chair against the wall.

Beth pulled out her phone and looked down at the time.

"You should go wash your hands," Jun said to Beth as she noticed the blood on Beth's hands.

Beth looked down at her hands and gasped when she saw the dried blood on her.

"I'll be right back," Beth said as she got up and walked away.

Jun turned her attention back to her phone as she began giggling.

"I'm surprised she could handle seeing a little bit of blood," Jun said to herself as she continued browsing on her phone.

Out in a foggy area, a teenaged boy was standing out in the middle of the fog looking around in confusion. The boy turned around and saw a shadowy figure walking towards him. The boy reached for his sword and gasped when he noticed it was gone.

"(Who's there?)" The boy said to the shadowy figure.

"(Jirou, it's me,)" An old man said as he stepped out of the fog.

"(Grandfather, how're you still here?)" Jirou asked his grandfather.

"(I'm not, I'm only in your heart,)" Jirou's grandfather told him.

"(Then where are we?)" Jirou asked his grandfather.

"(Somewhere you must not be,)" Jirou's grandfather told him. "(Norio has been released from his prison,)"

"(No, that's impossible!)" Jirou said in disbelief.

"(That means you're also free,)" His grandfather told him.

"(But, where am I?)" Jirou asked his grandfather.

"(You need to wake up to find out,)" His grandfather said as he began backing away into the fog.

"(Grandfather, don't leave me again!)" Jirou shouted as he began running towards his grandfather.

A bright light flashed in Jirou's eyes causing him to scream loudly. Jirou instantly leaned up in a bed as he screamed. Jirou placed his hand over his right shoulder and cringed in pain.

"(What's this?)" Jirou said in confusion as he saw the large bandage covering his shoulder.

Mr. Hitoshi hurried into the room and gasped when he saw Jirou sitting up in the bed.

"You're awake already?" Mr. Hitoshi said in amazement.

Jirou looked over and saw Mr. Hitoshi approaching him. Jirou jumped out of the bed and quickly wrapped his arms around Mr. Hitoshi's neck and began choking him.

"(Where am I?)" Jirou asked Mr. Hitoshi.

"You can't speak English?" Mr. Hitoshi said as he struggled to speak.

"(Who are you?)" Jirou asked Mr. Hitoshi.

"(My name is Hitoshi,)" Mr. Hitoshi said to Jirou as Jirou continued holding him tightly.

"(Where are my people?)" Jirou asked Mr. Hitoshi as he slowly began squeezing tighter.

"(I don't know,)" Mr. Hitoshi told Jirou. "(A worker found you on the beach,)"

Jirou let go of Mr. Hitoshi and backed away from him as he gasped for air. Jun and Beth ran into the room and saw Mr. Hitoshi leaned over gasping.

"What happened in here?" Jun asked her father.

Jirou turned around and saw Jun and Beth standing behind him. Jirou grabbed a vase off the counter and hurled it at the girls. Beth screamed in horror as Jun pulled her out of the way causing the vase to smash against the wall. Jirou ran off out of the room and left the others.

"He's trying to escape," Jun said to her father.

"Come on, we can't let him leave," Mr. Hitoshi said to his daughter as he walked by her.

Jun and Beth followed Mr. Hitoshi downstairs to the front of the store. Beth walked through a doorway and saw Jirou standing at the front door.

"(What is this?)" Jirou said in confusion as he saw cars driving by outside.

Jirou looked over his shoulder and saw Beth approaching him. Jirou quickly threw a shuriken towards Beth as he turned around. Beth gasped as Jun stepped in front of her with an antique shield causing the shuriken to stick into it.

"(Settle down, we're not your enemies!)" Mr. Hitoshi shouted as he walked into the room.

"(What are these monsters outside?)" Jirou asked Mr. Hitoshi.

"(Wait you don't know what a car is?)" Mr. Hitoshi asked Jirou.

"(Car?)" Jirou said in confusion.

"Does he only speak Japanese?" Beth asked Mr. Hitoshi.

"Yeah, and I'm really starting to wonder where he came from," Mr. Hitoshi said to Beth.

"(What is your name?)" Jun asked Jirou.

"(Jirou Takayama,)" Jirou told Jun.

Jun's eyes widened as her father stepped forward towards Jirou.

"(Wait, you're a Takayama?)" Mr. Hitoshi asked Jirou.

"(Yes, from the Takayama ninja clan,)" Jirou informed Mr. Hitoshi.

"Dad, is he related to us?" Jun asked her father.

"Wait, what's going on here?" Beth asked Jun.

"This guy has the same last name as me and my father," Jun told Beth.

"(Jirou, I'm also a Takayama,)" Mr. Hitoshi told Jirou. "(So is my daughter, Jun,)"

Jirou's eyes widened in disbelief as he backed into the front door.

"(Where are my father and brother?)" Jirou asked Hitoshi.

"(Jirou, where were you before you fainted?)" Hitoshi asked Jirou.

"(Protecting my village from Norio and his soldiers,)" Jirou told Hitoshi.

"Jun, go find our family books and search for Norio," Hitoshi told his daughter.

"I'm on it," Jun said as she left the room.

"Who's Norio?" Beth asked Hitoshi.

"Norio is an ancestor of mine and Jun's," Hitoshi told Beth. "He became corrupted by a demon spirit and became a Demon King,"

Jun walked back into the room carrying four large books and sat them on the front desk.

"This is going to take forever to look through," Jun said as she began searching through one of the books.

"(I was sealed away along with Norio,)" Jirou said to Hitoshi.

"(If you were sealed away, then that means Norio is free now,)" Hitoshi said to Jirou.

"(I need to go make sure he's stopped then,)" Jirou said as he went to open the door.

"(No, don't go out!)" Hitoshi said as he reached for Jirou.

Jirou opened the door and stepped outside. Jirou looked down the street and saw a group of women walking into a store down the road.

"(What's going on?)" Jirou said in confusion as he saw traffic lights up the road.

"I found something," Jun said to her father.

"Good, what does it say?" Beth asked Jun.

"It says that Norio was sealed away 444 years ago," Jun said to her father and Beth.

"Then that means Jirou is over 450 years old," Hitoshi said to Beth and Jun.

"No way!" Beth said as she looked over at Jirou standing outside. "He looks so young!"

"That's because he's been sealed away with Norio for 444 years," Hitoshi told Beth. "I guess you don't age when sealed away,"

"Then what do we do with him?" Jun asked Hitoshi.

Hitoshi sighed as he rubbed the back of his head.

"I guess we'll have to keep him here," Hitoshi said to Jun. "He can't go out into the modern world on his own,"

Jirou walked back inside with an astonished look on his face.

"(Where am I?)" Jirou asked Hitoshi.

"(The year 2017,)" Hitoshi told Jirou. "(You were sealed away for over 400 years,)"

Jirou screamed as he grasped his head with his hands.

"(No, that can't be true!)" Jirou shouted as his eyes began watering.

"(I'm sorry,)" Hitoshi said to Jirou as he looked down.

Jirou fell to his knees and began crying.

"(Then my father and my brother are gone!)" Jirou shouted as he cried. "(And Kiyomi too!)"

Jirou punched the ground as he screamed in frustration. Beth walked up to Jirou and placed her hand on his shoulder. Jirou looked up and saw Beth standing above him.

"Don't worry, we're here for you," Beth said to Jirou.

In a dark room, Norio was lying on a table unconscious. Norio slowly opened his eyes and saw a bright light turn on above him. Norio placed a hand on his head as he leaned up in pain.

"(Where am I?)" Norio said in confusion.

A door across the room slowly came open and revealed a pointy eared alien in a top hat standing on the other side.

"I see you have awoken," The alien said as he walked into the room with his cane in hand.

"(Who the hell are you?)" Norio asked the alien as he stepped off the table.

"Ah, I see you don't understand me," The alien said to Norio.

"(Answer me!)" Norio shouted as he went to grab the alien.

"Watch it!" The alien shouted as he jumped back. "I'm the one who freed you!"

A feminine laugh was suddenly heard coming from outside of the room causing Norio to stop going after the alien.

"(Norio, it's been centuries since I last saw you,)" A white creature with a fox-like face said as she walked into the room.

"Madame Odius!" The alien said in astonishment.

"Let me handle this Cosmo," Madame Odius said to Cosmo as she walked up to Norio.

"(What's going on here?)" Norio asked Madame Odius.

"(You were freed from you seal by Cosmo,)" Madame Odius told Norio.

"(Then where are we?)" Norio asked Madame Odius.

"(On board Cosmo's ship,)" Madame Odius informed Norio. "(We're not the only Yokai on this ship either,)"

Norio gasped as Madame Odius turned away from him.

"(We've all been renamed though,)" Madame Odius told Norio. "(I now go by the name Madame Odius,)"

"(What is the reason for that?)" Norio asked Madame Odius.

"(Just to get us more easily acquainted with the modern world,)" Madame Odius told Norio. "(Many things have changed in 444 years,)"

Cosmo walked back into the room and looked over at Norio.

"I want you to teach him to speak this earth language like the rest of us," Cosmo told Madame Odius.

"He does speak an Earth language you fool," Madame Odius told Cosmo. "Just a different one than the one we use,"

"Then teach him this language," Cosmo told Madame Odius.

"I will, it will just take a few months to do so," Madame Odius told Cosmo as she walked by him.

Madame Odius walked up to the doorway and turned back towards Norio.

"(Cosmo wants you to now be known as Galvanax,)" Madame Odius said to Norio.

"Galvanax?" Norio said in confusion.

"(Yes, that will be your name for now own,)" Madame Odius said as she walked out of the room.

Norio screamed in anger as Cosmo closed the door.

"(I will not change my name because of a weak little yokai!)" Norio shouted angrily as he punched the wall.

Norio suddenly gasped as he backed away from the wall.

"(Wait, if I'm free, then that means that brat is as well!)" Norio said in astonishment.

Norio clenched his fist as he began snickering.

"(Once I'm free of this place, I will make sure the Takayama clan burns to the ground!)" Norio said to himself.

Later that night, Jun walked into the backroom and saw her father changing the bandage on Jirou's shoulder. Hitoshi placed the new bandage over Jirou's wound and stepped back away from him. Hitoshi turned around and saw Jun standing at the door behind him.

"Beth just left," Jun told her father.

"Well it is getting late," Hitoshi said as he looked over at an old clock on the wall.

"Yeah, I was about to head upstairs and get to bed," Jun said to her father.

"We need somewhere for Jirou to sleep too," Hitoshi said as Jirou rose from his seat.

"There are only two beds in the house," Jun informed her father.

"Oh I know," Hitoshi said as he chuckled. "I'll just sleep on the couch,"

"Alright old man," Jun said as she smiled and walked out of the room.

"(Jirou, follow me,)" Hitoshi said to Jirou as he headed towards the door.

Jirou followed Hitoshi out of the backroom and up the stairs in the next room. Hitoshi and Jirou came up to a living room once they reached the top of the stairs.

"(What is this?)" Jirou asked Hitoshi as he walked up to the TV.

"(We'll discuss that tomorrow,)" Hitoshi told Jirou as walked towards a hallway.

Jirou followed Hitoshi into the hall and watched Hitoshi open a door. Jirou walked up to the door and looked inside the room and saw a bed and a dresser inside.

"(You can sleep in my bed for now,)" Hitoshi said to Jirou.

Jirou walked up to the bed and slowly sat down on it.

"(It's very soft,)" Jirou said as he placed his hands on the bed. "(Much softer than mine,)"

Jirou slowly lied down as Hitoshi turned off the lights.

"(If you need anything, I'll be in the living room,)" Hitoshi said as he went to close the door.

Hitoshi quietly closed the door and left Jirou in his room. Jirou blankly stared up at the ceiling and sighed.

"(Norio is out there somewhere,)" Jirou said quietly to himself. "(But who broke the seal?)"

Jirou pulled the cover over his body and began dozing off to sleep. Out in the Living Room, Hitoshi walked back downstairs into the backroom. Hitoshi walked up to Jirou's sword lying on a table and picked it up.

"Whoa, this thing feels heavy!" Hitoshi said in amazement.

Hitoshi pulled the sword out of its sheath and gasped when he saw the shine on it.

"Incredible, it's in such a good condition!" Hitoshi said as he examined the sword.

Hitoshi ran his fingers over something on the blade that caught his attention.

"What's this?" Hitoshi said as he looked at the blade.

Japanese writing ran along the blade as Hitoshi continued feeling the blade.

"What could this stuff mean?" Hitoshi wondered.

Hitoshi began yawning as he put the sword back in its sheath.

"It'll have to wait until tomorrow though," Hitoshi said as he sat the sword back on the table.

Hitoshi walked over to a light switch and turned off the lights.

"I better get to bed so I can get up early," Hitoshi said as he left the room.

The next morning at the high school Beth was grabbing books out of her locker as the bell began ringing. A book fell out of her locker and caused her to groan in frustration. Beth knelt down and picked the book up off the floor.

"Ah, Geometry, it's always you," Beth said as she put her book back in her locker.

Beth closed her locker as two boys came walking up to her at her locker.

"Beth Tolbert is running late?" One of the boys said sarcastically.

"Hey Mason," Beth said as she walked by Mason and his friend.

"Just hey?" Mason said as he leaned against the lockers.

Beth stopped and turned towards the boys.

"Oh, you too Logan," Beth said as she smiled.

Beth turned back away and continued on down the hall.

"Thanks," Logan said as he waved while Beth walked away.

Mason elbowed Logan in the shoulder.

"What?" Logan said in confusion.

"Good luck with your exam!" Mason shouted to Beth down the hall.

Mason sighed as he turned around.

"What is it with her?" Mason asked Logan.

"She's just not into you," Logan told Mason.

"Bull crap," Mason said as he gently shoved Logan aside. "All the girls dig me,"

"Yeah, they sure do," Logan said as he rolled his eyes.

Mason looked up ahead and saw Jun walking towards him and Logan.

"What's up?" Mason asked Jun as she walked by.

"Eat trash," Jun said as she continued walking.

"Geez, what crawled up her pants?" Mason asked Logan.

"She's always grumpy," Logan told Mason.

"Come on let's get to class before Mr. Douglas gets unstable," Mason said as he walked away.

Logan began chuckling as he followed Mason down the hall.

Back at the antique shop, Hitoshi was polishing a vas as Jirou was sitting at a table reading a book. Hitoshi looked back at Jirou as he continued polishing the vas.

"I'm surprised that old English-Japanese dictionary is working," Hitoshi said to himself. "It's still going to be awhile before he gets used to being over 400 years in the future,"

Hitoshi sat the vas down on a stand and smiled as the sun's rays glared on it through the window.

"(Are you learning anything?)" Hitoshi asked Jirou.

Jirou nodded as he continued reading. Hitoshi picked up a feather duster off the nearby table and left the room as Jirou continued reading the book.

"Yes," Jirou said as he smiled and continued reading.

A bell at the door suddenly rung as the door came open. Jirou lowered the book and saw a delivery man carrying a box.

"I've got a package for Hitoshi Takayama," The delivery man said as he sat the box down on the counter.

"Eh?" Jirou said in confusion.

Jirou rose from his seat and silently walked into the back room.

"Hello?" The delivery man said in confusion as he waited for Jirou to return.

"(What is it?)" Hitoshi asked Jirou as he came through a door.

"(There's an odd man with a box out there,)" Jirou told Hitoshi.

Hitoshi walked past Jirou and walked into the front room.

"Hey, sorry about that," Hitoshi said to the delivery man.

"Is he shy or something?" The delivery man asked Hitoshi as Jirou walked back into the front room.

"No, he's just now learning how to speak English," Hitoshi told the delivery man as he signed a paper.

"Well, good luck with that," The delivery man said to Jirou as Hitoshi handed the clipboard back to him.

"Goodbye!" Jirou shouted as the delivery man exited the building.

Hitoshi turned towards Jirou and saw him waving.

"That was quick," Hitoshi said with an astounded look on his face.

Jirou sat back down at the front desk and went back to reading as Hitoshi chuckled.

"Maybe it won't take so long after all," Hitoshi said to himself.

On board Cosmo's ship, Norio was sitting in his room alone as the doors came open. Norio turned around and saw Madame Odius walk into the room with another monster right behind her. The monster moved in front of Madame Odius and gasped when he saw Norio.

"(Norio, it really is you!)" The monster said in disbelief.

"(You,)" Norio said as he rose to his feet.

"(Ripcon will assist you in learning about everything that has changed since you were sealed,)" Madame Odius said to Norio.

"(I will make sure you dominate this world as you did centuries ago,)" Ripcon said as he knelt down in front of Norio.

"(I have decided to use the name,)" Norio informed Madame Odius.

"(Ah, so you want to go by Galvanax now?)" Odius asked Norio.

"(That is correct,)" Norio said as he nodded.

"(I will not let you down Galvanax,)" Ripcon said as he bowed.

"(Then you better start teaching me everything,)" Galvanax said as he kicked Ripcon aside.

Ripcon jumped back to his feet and dusted off his coat.

"(With pleasure,)" Ripcon said as he nodded.

Madame Oidus began chuckling as Ripcon left the room with Galvanax.

"Once Galvanax is ready, we will go after what he was wanting centuries ago," Madame Odius said to herself as she left the room.

Back at the antique store, Jirou was still sitting at the front desk reading the English-Japanese dictionary as the front door came open. Jirou looked up and saw Beth and Jun walk inside.

"Goodbye!" Jirou said to the girls as he smiled.

"I think you got that backwards," Beth said as she giggled.

"At least he learned a word," Jun said as she tossed her bag onto a nearby table.

"Has he been reading that thing all day?" Beth asked Jun.

"He was reading it when I left for school this morning," Jun told Beth as she sat down.

"Let's see how much he has down," Beth said as she pulled out her phone.

Beth walked up to the front desk as she typed on her phone. Beth turned the phone towards Jirou and caught his attention.

"What're you doing?" Jun asked Beth.

"Dog!" Jirou said as he pointed at the image of a small brown puppy on Beth's phone.

Beth turned the phone towards Jun as she smirked.

"He still has a long way to go," Jun said as she crossed her legs.

"Oh, I forgot to ask you something," Beth said as she put her phone away and walked over to Jun.

"What?" Jun asked Beth.

"Did Mason seem weird to you today?" Beth asked Jun.

"He was as dense as he's ever been," Jun told Beth as she messed with her phone.

"Hi," Jirou said to himself as he continued reading.

Beth looked over at Jirou and chuckled.

"That's what you say when someone walks in here," Beth said to Jirou.

"And I bet he didn't understand a single word you just said to him," Jun said to Beth.

Hitoshi walked into the front room and saw that Jun and Beth were there.

"Hi," Jirou said to Hitoshi.

"Hey Jirou," Hitoshi said as he walked by him.

"What is it?" Jun asked her father.

"I wanted to talk to you about something I found last night," Hitoshi said to Jun.

"Alright?" Jun said in confusion as she rose from her seat.

"Come with me up stairs," Hitoshi said to Jun.

Beth sat down at the table as Jun followed her father up stairs. Beth looked over at Jirou and saw him reading the dictionary.

"He's a quick learner," Beth said as she smirked.

Beth's phone suddenly began ringing startling her. Beth answered the phone and put it up to her ear.

"Mom, what's going on?" Beth said as she rose from her seat.

Jirou lowered the book as he heard screaming coming from Beth's phone from across the room.

"Wait, slow down!" Beth said as her mother continued screaming through the phone.

Beth's eyes began watering as she continued listening to her mother over the phone.

"Mom, please don't do this," Beth said to her mother as she began crying.

Jirou rose from his seat and sat the dictionary aside.

"Please, don't kick him out!" Beth said to her mother. "I'm sure it was just an accident,"

Beth's mother continued screaming through the phone as Beth lowered the phone from her ear.

"I knew this was going to happen," Beth said as she hung up on her mother.

Beth began sobbing as tears ran from her eyes. Jirou walked up to Beth and hugged her. Beth suddenly gasped as she felt someone wrap their arms around her.

"What're you doing?" Beth said in confusion.

"It's okay," Jirou said slowly to Beth.

Beth pushed Jirou away as she sniffled.

"I don't need comfort right now," Beth told Jirou.

"Smile," Jirou said to Beth.

Beth looked up at Jirou and saw him smiling at her.

"What?" Beth said in confusion.

Beth suddenly stopped crying as she began giggling.

"Man, you really know how to cheer someone up," Beth said to Jirou as she wiped the tears from her face. "I bet you don't understand a single word I'm saying either,"

Beth walked back over to her seat and sat down.

"My parents have been fighting for the past few months," Beth said to Jirou as he stood in front of her. "Today mom finally snapped and kicked dad out,"

Beth looked out the front window and saw the sun setting in the distance.

"I never wanted this to happen," Beth told Jirou. "But some things just can't be prevented,"

"Smile," Jirou said to Beth.

Beth looked back over at Jirou and saw him smiling again.

"What is it with you and smiling?" Beth asked Jirou.

Jirou ran over to the front desk and grabbed his dictionary. He quickly opened the book and began going through the pages.

"Family still loves you," Jirou said slowly to Beth as he read from the dictionary.

Jirou looked back towards Beth and saw her beginning to crack up.

"Thanks Jirou," Beth said as she calmed down.

Upstairs in Hitoshi's living room, Jun was sitting by herself on the couch waiting for her father. Jun sighed as she leaned back in the couch as Hitoshi walked up holding Jirou's sword.

"What're you doing with Jirou's sword?" Jun asked her father.

"I was curious," Hitoshi said as he pulled the sword out of the sheath.

Hitoshi leaned over towards Jun and showed her the inscriptions on the blade.

"Look at this," Hitoshi said to Jun.

"What does it say?" Jun asked her father.

"I'm not sure, it's ancient," Hitoshi told Jun. "Jirou might know what it says, but I don't want him to know I've been messing with this,"

"Then go put it back," Jun said as she handed the sheath to her father. "We can discuss this some other time,"

"But this could be something huge!" Hitoshi said to his daughter.

"Is it worth having that sword shoved through your gut?" Jun asked her father. "Now go put that thing back before Jirou sees you with it,"

Hitoshi sighed as he took the sheath from Jun. Hitoshi placed the sword back in the sheath and walked away.

"Idiot," Jun said as she crossed her arms.

Laughter was suddenly heard coming from downstairs. Jun rose to her feet and quietly walked up to the stairs.

"What're those two doing?" Jun asked herself as she walked down the stairs.

Jun walked down into the front room and saw Beth helping Jirou with the dictionary.

"Have a nice day," Jirou said as he slowly read from the dictionary.

"Good job!" Beth said as she clapped her hands.

"What're you two doing?" Jun asked Beth and Jirou.

"I'm just helping him with his English," Beth told Jun.

Jun walked over to Beth and Jirou and sat down with them.

"My dad has gone insane since Jirou got here," Jun told Beth.

"What do you mean?" Beth asked Jun.

"Let's just say he's digging too deep," Jun said to Beth as she crossed her arms.

On board Cosmo's ship, Galvanax stormed into the control room with Ripcon and Madame Odius behind him. Cosmo jumped from his seat startled when he saw Galvanax walking towards him.

"What's going on?" Cosmo said in confusion.

"Galvanax is taking over," Madame Odius told Cosmo.

"You can't do that!" Cosmo said to Madame Odius.

"He can and he will," Ripcon said as he pulled out one of his swords. "Unless you want things to get rough,"

"No thank you; getting physical is not my style," Cosmo said as he slowly pushed Ripcon's sword away.

"Then step aside!" Ripcon shouted at Cosmo.

Cosmo gasped and quickly stepped away from his seat. Galvanax sat down in Cosmo's seat as he sighed in relief.

"Find the boy," Galvanax said slowly to everyone.

"What boy?" Cosmo asked Galvanax.

"The boy that was locked away with him," Madame Odius told Cosmo.

"Wait, was he important or something?" Cosmo asked Madame Odius.

"Yes, he possesses the key to the ultimate power," Ripcon told Cosmo.

Cosmo gulped nervously as he began sweating.

"You ditched the boy, didn't you?" Madame Odius asked Cosmo.

"I guess you could say that," Cosmo said as he chuckled.

Galvanax rose from his seat and grabbed Cosmo by the neck.

"Find the boy!" Galvanax shouted at Cosmo.

Galvanax tossed Cosmo and sent him crashing into a wall.

"It could take months to find him!" Cosmo said as he scurried to his feet.

"Then you better get to work before Galvanax does something worse than throwing you," Ripcon told Cosmo.

"Right on it!" Cosmo shouted as he ran over to one of the computers.

"(I will rule this planet just as I planned to do centuries ago,)" Galvanax said as he clenched his fist. "(Be prepared boy, I'm coming for you,)"

Out in front of her house, Beth was helping her father load boxes into his car. After Beth sat a box down in the back of the car, she noticed her brother moping up front. Beth walked up to the passenger window and looked inside at her brother.

"I'm going to miss you Gage," Beth said to her brother.

"Whatever," Gage said as he looked away.

"He's still mad," Beth's dad said as he closed the back door on the car.

Beth's father walked up to the front of the car and hugged Beth.

"I'm going to miss you most of all," Beth's father said to her.

"Bye daddy," Beth said as she hugged her father.

Beth's father got into the car as Beth looked over at a window and saw her mother staring outside.

"Take care of your mother for me," Beth's father said as he closed the door.

"I will, don't worry," Beth said to her father as he started the car.

"Bye sweetheart," Beth's father said as the car began backing away.

Beth waved goodbye to her father and brother as she watched them drive off into the distance.

"I need to get used to this," Beth said as her eyes began watering.

Beth quickly wiped the tears from her eyes and sniffled.

"I need to stay positive," Beth said to herself. "I still have my friends,"

Beth walked back to her house and walked inside.

"I'm sorry, but it had to be done," Beth's mother said to her.

"I know, but let's just try and move on," Beth said to her mother as she walked away.

Beth walked up the stairs and came up to a door. Beth opened the door and entered her bedroom. Beth walked up to her dresser and saw a picture of her and her father hanging on the wall.

"Here's to a good future," Beth said to herself as she looked at her reflection in her mirror.

Later that night at the antique shop, Hitoshi was sitting in his room holding Jirou's sword in his hands. Jirou entered the room and froze when he saw Hitoshi holding his sword. Hitoshi looked up at Jirou and rose to his feet.

"(It's a nice sword,)" Hitoshi said to Jirou.

"(It's one of a kind,)" Jirou told Hitoshi as Hitoshi pulled the sword out of its sheath.

"(Do you know what these inscriptions are?)" Hitoshi asked Jirou.

Jirou leaned in closer to the sword and saw the inscriptions along the blade.

"(I never noticed them before!)" Jirou said in astonishment.

Jirou took the sword from Hitoshi and began looking closer at the inscriptions.

"(It's ancient writing,)" Jirou said to Hitoshi. "(I can't read a single word,)"

"(Then I'll try and decipher it,)" Hitoshi said to Jirou.

Jirou looked up at Hitoshi and nodded.

"(Please do,)" Jirou said as he handed the sword back to Hitoshi. "(I want to know everything about my family,)"

"(Our family,)" Hitoshi said as he took the sword from Jirou.

Hitoshi placed the sword back in its sheath and walked over to the door.

"(Get some rest,)" Hitoshi said to Jirou. "(Tomorrow we'll both be busy studying,)"

Jirou sat down on the bed as Hitoshi closed the door behind him.

"(Grandfather, you're hiding something from me, I know it,)" Jirou said to himself as he lied down.

Jirou covered up in the cover and sighed as he stared up at the ceiling.

"(I still have family even today,)" Jirou said to himself. "(And friends too,)"

Jirou slowly closed his eyes and dozed off to sleep. Outside of the bedroom, Hitoshi walked down stairs to his office. Hitoshi sat the sword down on his desk and quickly walked over to a bookshelf.

"I hope I have a book that will help with this," Hitoshi said as he continued searching. "If not, then I might need to take a trip back to Japan,"

Hitoshi pulled a book off the shelf and opened it.

"Maybe this will work," Hitoshi said as he walked back to his desk.

Hitoshi sat down and pulled the sword out of its sheath.

"Alright, let's get started," Hitoshi said as he began reading the book.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Modern Day Ninja

*Brackets() are used when a person is speaking in a different language, in this case, Japanese.*

A year has passed since Jirou was found by Beth on the beach in Dorado Bay. Jirou has continued his training as a ninja and learning the English language. Hitoshi is still studying the inscriptions on Jirou's sword to this day. Beth and Jun are now beginning their final year in high school while still working at Hitoshi's antique shop.

In a dark room, Jirou slowly woke up and leaned out of his bed. Jirou started rubbing his eyes as he yawned while pulling the cover off of him. As Jirou rose from the bed, mumbling was heard coming from the other side of the bed.

"(Who's there?)" Jirou said as he turned around.

Jirou pulled the cover off the bed and gasped when he saw a girl lying in the bed.

"Kiyomi!" Jirou said in astonishment.

Kiyomi opened her eyes and saw Jirou out of bed.

"(What're you doing out of bed?)" Kiyomi asked Jirou.

"(Where are we?)" Jirou asked Kiyomi.

"(What do you mean?)" Kiyomi said in confusion. "(We're at home,)"

"(No, you were left in the past,)" Jirou said as he backed into the wall.

"(Jirou, are you okay?)" Kiyomi asked Jirou as she climbed out of the bed.

"(You're not Kiyomi,)" Jirou said as Kiyomi approached him.

Kiyomi began giggling as she came up to Jirou. Kiyomi grabbed Jirou's wrist and began squeezing tightly.

"(Stop it!)" Jirou shouted as he tried to pull his arm away.

"(I'm coming for you,)" Kiyomi said to Jirou as her eyes began glowing red.

Jirou shoved Kiyomi away from him as a dark aura surrounded her body.

"(You're possessed!)" Jirou shouted at Kiyomi as she rose from the ground.

Kiyomi transformed into Norio in front of Jirou and began laughing evilly.

"(I will make sure your family rots in hell,)" Norio said to Jirou.

"(Stay away from me!)" Jirou shouted as he ran off towards a door.

Norio suddenly appeared in front of Jirou and blocked the door.

"(You can't run,)" Norio said to Jirou as he went to grab him.

Norio grabbed Jirou by the arm and began pulling him into the shadows on the floor.

"(Let go!)" Jirou shouted as he sunk into the shadows with Norio.

"(You have nowhere to go,)" Norio said as Jirou began screaming.

"(No!)" Jirou shouted as he was engulfed by the shadows.

Jirou rose up out of his bed screaming in horror and sweating profusely. Hitoshi slung the door open and saw Jirou shivering in the bed.

"What's wrong?" Hitoshi asked Jirou.

"It happened again," Jirou told Hitoshi as he looked over at him.

"That's the fourth time this month," Jun said as she walked up to the doorway rubbing her eyes.

"It's alright, it was just a dream," Hitoshi said as he sat down at the foot of the bed.

"No, I think they're messages," Jirou told Hitoshi.

"Really, you're joking right?" Jun asked Jirou.

"Norio keeps telling me that he's coming for me," Jirou told Jun and Hitoshi as he got out of the bed.

"Jirou, I'm sure he would've shown up by now if he was coming for you," Hitoshi said to Jirou.

"That's true, but what if he was preparing for something first?" Jirou asked Hitoshi.

"Preparing for what?" Jun asked Jirou.

"Another war," Jirou said to Jun.

"Let's save this talk for later and just get back to bed," Hitoshi said as he rose to his feet.

"Yeah, my first day of my senior year is tomorrow," Jun said as she yawned.

"I'm sorry I woke you two up," Jirou said as Hitoshi and Jun left his room.

"Just try and get some sleep," Hitoshi said to Jirou as he turned the lights off.

Hitoshi closed the door and left Jirou alone in his room. Jirou walked back over to his bed and got back into bed.

"Hopefully this all means nothing," Jirou said as he covered up.

The next morning Jirou came walking down the stairs and saw Jun about to leave for school. Jun looked over her shoulder and saw Jirou heading towards her father's office.

"I wouldn't go in there right now," Jun told Jirou as she picked up her bag.

"Why not?" Jirou asked Jun.

"Dad was up all night studying that sword of yours," Jun told Jirou.

"Again?" Jirou said in disbelief.

"Yeah and I thought he finally stopped pulling all-nighters with that thing," Jun said as she walked towards the front door.

"I'll see you later," Jirou said to Jun as Jun opened the door.

"Whatever," Jun said as she walked out the door.

Jirou walked up to Hitoshi's office and slowly opened the door. Jirou peeked inside and saw Hitoshi with his head lying on his desk asleep.

"He's out cold," Jirou said quietly to himself.

Jirou silently walked into the room and approached Hitoshi's desk. Jirou picked up his sword off the table and looked at the inscriptions on the blade.

"What does this stuff mean?" Jirou asked himself.

Hitoshi suddenly woke up and saw Jirou gazing at his sword and running his fingers along the inscriptions.

"What time is it?" Hitoshi said in confusion as he looked over at a grandfather clock.

"Oh, did I wake you?" Jirou asked Hitoshi as he noticed Hitoshi was awake.

"No, it's fine," Hitoshi said as he rose from his seat. "I wanted to talk to you anyway,"

"What about?" Jirou asked Hitoshi.

"About your sword," Hitoshi told Jirou.

"Did you figure out what it says?" Jirou asked Hitoshi.

"Some of it," Hitoshi said as he picked up a piece of paper off his desk.

"Did it help you figure anything out?" Jirou asked Hitoshi.

"I found out that that sword isn't just a sword," Hitoshi told Jirou. "It's also a key,"

"A key for what?" Jirou wondered as he looked down at his sword.

"Where did your grandfather take you to get that sword?" Hitoshi asked Jirou.

"A secret chamber," Jirou told Hitoshi. "It had statues of our former grandmasters in it,"

"And that sword?" Hitoshi asked Jirou.

"Yeah," Jirou said as he nodded.

"Then we need to go to this chamber," Hitoshi told Jirou.

"Are we even sure it's still there?" Jirou asked Hitoshi.

"I don't know, but our only way of finding out is if we go and see," Hitoshi said to Jirou.

"Wait, you want us to go all the way to Japan?" Jirou asked Hitoshi.

"Yeah, that's correct," Hitoshi said as he handed the sheath to Jirou.

"How're we supposed to get there?" Jirou asked Hitoshi as he followed him out of the office.

"I have a friend who can fly us there," Hitoshi said to Jirou. "So get to packing,"

"We're leaving right now?" Jirou asked Hitoshi.

"No, we'll wait until Jun is out of school," Hitoshi told Jirou.

Hitoshi headed upstairs and left Jirou by himself.

"I never thought I would head back to Japan this soon," Jirou said as he put his sword in its sheath.

Over at the high school, many students were sitting around outside waiting for classes to begin. Up at the steps near the front door Mason and Logan were sitting with a group of other boys chatting as Jun walked through the gate.

"Move it along!" A woman shouted at the students blocking the path towards the steps.

Jun looked over her shoulder and saw the woman walking up behind her. Jun stepped out of the way and let the woman pass.

"You kids need to move," The woman said to Mason and his friends.

"Who are you supposed to be?" Mason asked the woman.

"I am the new history teacher," The woman told Mason. "Now move aside before I make you move,"

"Fine, good grief," Mason said as he stepped out of the way.

The woman walked up to the doors and entered the building.

"Man, she's got quite the attitude," Logan said to Mason.

"Yeah, someone needs to chill out," Mason said as he snickered.

Mason turned away from the doors and saw Jun approaching the steps.

"Hey Jun," Mason said to Jun as she walked up the steps.

"Don't talk to me," Jun said to Mason as she opened the door.

The other boys around Mason began laughing as Jun closed the door behind her.

"I just said hey," Mason said in embarrassment.

"Yeah and it seems like you said a little too much to her," Logan said as he chuckled.

"Alright that's enough out of you dork," Mason said as he threw Logan's backpack at him.

Logan caught his backpack and watched Mason walk inside angered.

"Sorry if I angered you!" Logan shouted as he rose to his feet.

Logan ran into the school and saw Beth come out of the office up ahead.

"Hey Beth, did you see Mason go by?" Logan asked Beth.

"No, is he alright?" Beth asked Logan.

"He's probably just embarrassed about what happened outside," Logan told Beth.

"What happened?" Beth asked Logan.

"Jun," Logan said to Beth.

"Ah, he's still trying to find a girlfriend I see," Beth said as she giggled.

"Yeah, he never knows when to quit," Logan said as he sighed.

"Well, I hope you can cheer him up," Beth said to Logan. "It's our last year here after all,"

"Thanks, I'll try and find him now," Logan said as he walked off.

Beth looked down at a small piece of paper she was holding in her hand.

"Alright, now where's my new locker?" Beth wondered as she began walking down the hallway.

Later that day as the final bell rang, students exited their classrooms and began heading for the exit. Beth walked out of a classroom carrying her books as her phone began going off. As Beth reached for her phone someone bumped into her causing her to drop her books.

"Seriously!" Beth said in annoyance as everyone walked by her.

Beth knelt down and began picking her books up off the ground as her phone continued ringing.

"What is it?" Beth asked the caller as she answered her phone.

"Beth I just wanted to call and tell you not to come into work today," Hitoshi told Beth through the phone.

"Wait, why not?" Beth asked Hitoshi.

"Well, Jirou and I have plans," Hitoshi said as he looked over at Jirou carrying a suitcase down the stairs.

"What about Jun?" Beth asked Hitoshi.

"She'll probably go with us if she wants to," Hitoshi told Beth.

"Where are you guys going?" Beth asked Hitoshi as she leaned against a locker.

Down the hall, Mason walked out of his classroom in disappointment.

"Cheer up dude, it was only the first day," Logan told Mason as he walked out behind him.

"Yeah, and it's only the beginning of my downfall," Mason said as he waved a sheet of paper in Logan's face.

"One bad grade isn't going to cause you to fail," Logan said as he swatted the piece of paper away.

Logan looked over Mason's shoulder and saw Beth down the hall talking on her phone.

"What're you looking at?" Mason asked Logan as he turned around.

"Wonder what's going on with her?" Logan asked Mason.

"I don't know, but it's not our business," Mason said as he began walking away.

Logan grabbed Mason by the arm.

"Mason, you've had a crush on Beth since junior high," Logan told Mason. "You could at least ask if she needs a ride home or something,"

"Do you not remember what happened last time I asked her out?" Mason asked Logan.

"Yeah, it ended in a disaster," Logan said as he nodded.

"That's right, I almost got suspended," Mason told Logan. "But that guy got everything he deserved,"

Mason looked over at Beth and saw her still talking on the phone.

"You're going to Japan?" Beth said in disbelief.

"I wonder who she's talking to," Logan asked Mason.

"Probably her boss or something," Mason said as he leaned against the wall.

"I thought you were leaving?" Logan asked Mason.

"I will in a second," Mason said as he crossed his arms.

"I'll go with you guys then," Beth said as she came walking down the hall.

"No, your mother wouldn't like that idea," Hitoshi said to Beth through the phone.

"Come on, I'll just tell her I'm staying with Jun," Beth told Hitoshi as she walked past Mason and Logan.

"No Beth, I can't let you go with us," Hitoshi said to Beth as Beth continued walking.

"Sounds like Beth is trying to sneak off somewhere," Logan told Mason.

"You think I didn't hear that?" Mason said as he began following Beth.

"What're you doing?" Logan asked Mason as he went after him.

"I want to know what's going on," Mason told Logan as they continued following Beth.

"I'll come by there in a second and wish you guys luck at least," Beth said to Hitoshi as she came up to the front door of the school.

Beth walked outside still on the phone and left Mason and Logan at the door.

"Beth, wait up!" Mason shouted as he slung the door open.

Beth turned around with her phone up to her ear and saw Mason standing at the door.

"Mason, now's not the time," Beth informed Mason.

"I was just wondering if you needed a lift or something," Mason said to Beth as Logan walked out behind him.

"Don't leave just yet," Beth told Hitoshi through the phone.

Mason and Logan walked down the stairs and came up to Beth.

"Well, I guess you could drive me to the antique shop I work at," Beth said to Mason.

"No problem," Mason said as he smiled.

Logan began chuckling as the three teens headed towards the parking lot.

"Hopefully Mason doesn't screw this up," Logan said to himself as he followed Mason and Beth over to Mason's truck.

"So, what was that all about?" Mason asked Beth as he got into the truck with Beth.

"What?" Beth asked Mason.

"The phone call," Mason told Beth as Logan got into the backseat.

"Oh, it's just my boss saying he's going to Japan with one of my coworkers," Beth told Mason. "I never get to go anywhere to search for new things for the shop,"

"And he won't let you go?" Mason asked Beth as he started the engine.

"Exactly," Beth said as she sighed. "He thinks my mom would freak out about it,"

"I don't see what's wrong with just lying to your mom," Logan said to Beth.

"Thank you!" Beth said in agreement as Mason drove off the parking lot and onto the road.

"Well, just notify your mom and tell her you're staying with someone for a few days," Mason told Beth.

"I would, but that still wouldn't let Hitoshi let me go with them," Beth said in disappointment.

"Hitoshi doesn't have to know you're going with them," Mason said as he chuckled.

"Do you know how they're getting to Japan?" Logan asked Beth.

"Yeah, some small airfield in the city," Beth told Logan.

"Oh, that must be the old raggedy one!" Logan said as he pulled out his phone.

"What're you doing?" Beth asked Logan.

"Getting us directions to the airfield," Logan said as he handed his phone to Mason.

"Wait, I can't go without any extra clothes," Beth said to the guys.

"Don't worry, they sell clothes in Japan too," Mason said as he began speeding up.

"Mason, this isn't a good idea!" Beth said as Mason quickly turned a corner and continued down the road.

"Sure it is you're going to Japan!" Mason said as he sped down the road.

Over at a small airfield, Hitoshi and Jirou were loading bags onto a plane while Jun stood by watching. Jirou tossed the last bag onto the plane and closed the backdoor on the plane breathing heavily.

"Dad, do you even know how to fly this thing?" Jun asked her father.

"Of course I do," Hitoshi said as he chuckled. "How else would I have so many antiques from different countries?"

Jun sighed as her father boarded the plane.

"Are you sure he's not making this stuff up?" Jun asked Jirou.

"No, but it makes sense that our ancestors would hide something," Jirou said to Jun as he boarded the plane.

Jun groaned in annoyance as she went to board the plane. In the background, Beth, Logan and Mason quietly snuck up to the back of the plane.

"Open it," Mason said to Logan quietly as he came up to the back door of the plane.

Logan inserted a lock pick into the lock on the backdoor and quickly unlocked it.

"Where did you learn to do that?" Beth asked Logan.

"I used to read these old manuals on how to unlock car doors without keys," Logan told Beth as Mason slowly opened the door.

"Alright, get in," Mason said to Beth as the plane suddenly started.

"Uh oh," Logan said as his eyes widened.

Beth quickly climbed inside and hid behind a suitcase.

"Get in," Mason said to Logan as he shoved him into the plane.

"Wait, we're going too?" Logan said in confusion.

"No, we're staying her to get busted by the people who own this place," Mason said as he climbed in and closed the door behind him.

"You never said you two were coming too!" Beth said to Mason.

"Yeah, but we are," Mason said as the plane began moving.

"I think I'm going to be sick," Logan said as he covered his mouth.

"I swear if you puke I will beat the crap out of you!" Mason said to Logan as the plane left the ground.

The plane suddenly began rumbling causing Beth to gasp.

"Have you never ridden in a plane before?" Mason asked Beth.

"Nope," Beth said as she began breathing heavily.

"Great, this is going to be fun," Mason said sarcastically.

Out on the runway, a small insect landed on a light post and looked up towards the plane. A lens on the insect's head zoomed in at the plane. The insect suddenly flew off as the plane disappeared in the distance.

Inside of the control room on Cosmo's ship, Cosmo was watching the live feed that was being sent to him from one of his Buzzcams. Cosmo began snickering as Galvanax walked into the room with Ripcon behind him.

"What's so funny?" Galvanax asked Cosmo.

"Oh, I was waiting for you to return!" Cosmo said as he pointed over at the screen.

Galvanax looked at the screen and saw the plane taking off the runway.

"I've located that ninja that was sealed away with you," Cosmo told Galvanax. "He's heading back to Japan with two of his descendants,"

Galvanax suddenly began groaning in frustration.

"I know what he's going after," Galvanax said as he sat down.

"It must be the treasure that ninja clan has been protecting for centuries," Ripcon said to Galvanax.

"That's correct," Galvanax said as he nodded. "That treasure is said to bring out the ultimate capabilities of a ninja,"

"So should we try and swipe that treasure before they do?" Cosmo asked Galvanax.

"No, that won't be possible," Galvanax told Cosmo. "That boy's sword is the only way to unlock the chamber that treasure is held in,"

"Then what do we do?" Cosmo asked Galvanax.

"We follow them and let them lead us right to where the treasure is hidden," Galvanax said as he clenched his fist.

Cosmo began laughing as he ran over to the controls.

"Then let's take off after that plane!" Cosmo shouted as he pulled a lever down on the console.

The ship suddenly began rumbling as it slowly began moving.

"That treasure was moved after I was corrupted," Galvanax told Ripcon. "There's no telling where they moved it,"

"We'll just have to find out by following that pest," Ripcon told Galvanax.

Cosmo walked over to Galvanax and cleared his throat.

"Sir, there's one more thing I've been meaning to tell you," Cosmo said to Galvanax.

"What is it?" Galvanax said as he sighed.

"I've created new foot soldiers for you!" Cosmo said as four robotic soldiers walked into the room.

"What are these things?" Galvanax asked Cosmo. "And why do they look so similar to my soldiers?"

"These are Kudabots and I based them off of your soldiers," Cosmo told Galvanax.

"Ugh, I guess they'll do for now," Galvanax said as the robots walked out of the room.

"Should I go inform Odius of this plan?" Ripcon asked Galvanax.

"Yes, and tell her to join us in here until we arrive," Galvanax told Ripcon.

"With pleasure," Ripcon said as he bowed to Galvanax.

Ripcon left the room and left Galvanax and Cosmo's presence.

"Soon, I will make sure every last one of the Takayama scum are wiped out," Galvanax said as he began chuckling.

Out flying over the open seas in a plane, Jirou gazed out the window down at the ocean in amazement as Hitoshi continued flying the plane towards Japan. Hitoshi looked over at Jirou and saw that he was staring out the window.

"Hey, we should be arriving in about twenty minutes," Hitoshi told Jirou as Jirou turned towards him.

"Should I wake Jun up?" Jirou asked Hitoshi as he pointed back at a sleeping Jun behind them.

"Don't worry about that, the landing will wake her up," Hitoshi said as he chuckled.

Jirou looked out ahead and began smiling.

"It's been so long since I was in Japan," Jirou said in excitement.

"Now remember, things will be very different now," Hitoshi told Jirou.

"I know, I just hope the chamber is still intact," Jirou said to Hitoshi.

"I checked up on as much archaeologic studies I could and I didn't see anything related to it," Hitoshi said to Jirou. "Hopefully that means it's still untouched since you left,"

"Yeah, hopefully," Jirou said as he sighed.

In the very back of the plane Beth, Mason and Logan were hiding behind the luggage cramped up against the walls due to the lack of room.

"Is he okay?" Beth asked Mason as she noticed Logan's face turning pale.

"Oh dude not in here," Mason said in disgust.

"Motion sickness can be a problem for me sometimes," Logan said as he held his stomach in pain.

"It'll be okay, just try and hold it in until we land," Beth told Logan.

"I'll try, but I can't make any promises," Logan said as he cringed.

The plane began descending as it reached land. As the plane began rumbling Jun quickly awoke and saw that the plane was landing on a small runway.

"How long was I out?" Jun asked her father as she rubbed her eyes.

"A couple of hours," Hitoshi said as he took his headset off.

A man came out of a nearby building and started running towards the plane as its propeller slowly stopped.

"(Hitoshi, it's great to see you again my old friend!)" The man shouted in excitement as Hitoshi stepped out of the plane.

"(Hey Makoto, how have you been?)" Hitoshi asked his old friend as he walked up and shook Makoto's hand.

"(I've been great, but what brings you back to Japan?)" Makoto asked Hitoshi.

"(Well, there's something we came to look for,)" Hitoshi told Makoto as Jirou and Jun hopped out of the plane. "(It should be around where a large village used to be,)"

"(Sorry, but after how much has changed, I doubt you'll have any luck finding what you're looking for,)" Makoto said as he sighed.

"(It won't be a problem,)" Jirou said as he stepped forward. "(I used to live in the village we're searching for,)"

"(Oh, then it should be a piece of cake then,)" Makoto said as he chuckled.

"Jirou, you haven't been to your village in over four hundred years," Jun told Jirou. "You will never be able to recognize it now,"

"All I need to do is find something I recognize," Jirou said to Jun as he smirked. "There were a couple of mountains near my village for instance,"

"So we're going towards the mountains then," Hitoshi said as he turned towards Jirou and Jun.

"(Do you guys need a taxi?)" Makoto asked the others.

"(Yeah, go ahead and contact one for us while we unload our bags,)" Hitoshi said to Makoto as he nodded.

Jun walked up to the back of the plane and went to open the back door on it.

"I'm going to go ahead and get the stuff out," Jun said as she pulled the handle.

Inside the plane, Beth gasped when she heard a click noise coming from the back door.

"Someone's opening the door!" Mason whispered as his eyes widened.

The door came open and revealed Jun standing on the other side. Jun looked inside and quickly grabbed one of her suitcases. Jun turned away as she pulled her suitcase out and revealed Logan's face.

"Oh no," Logan said as he began sweating nervously.

Jun went to grab another suitcase while looking away.

"Here you go," Logan said as he handed a suitcase to Jun.

"Thanks," Jun said as she grabbed the suitcase.

Jun sat the suitcase down on the ground next to hers.

"What a second," Jun said as she just realized something.

Jun looked inside the plane and screamed in horror when she saw Logan sitting inside.

"What's going on?" Jirou said in confusion as he ran over to check on Jun.

The other bags and suitcases fell out the back of the plane and revealed Beth and Mason hiding behind them.

"Beth?" Jirou said in confusion when he saw Beth sitting in the back of the plane.

"And what are you two buffoons doing here?" Jun asked Logan and Mason.

"We couldn't let Beth sneak onto the plane by herself so we joined her," Mason told Jun as he climbed out of the plane.

"My dad is going to flip out when he sees you," Jun told Beth, Logan and Mason.

"I honestly don't see a problem," Jirou said as he shrugged his shoulders. "They can make things easier by helping us look around,"

"Yeah, what your brother said!" Mason said to Jun as he pointed at Jirou.

"He's not my brother," Jun said in disgust as she crossed her arms.

"Hey, what's taking so long?" Hitoshi asked Jun as he walked over.

Hitoshi noticed Beth and the two boys standing around with Jun and Jirou.

"I know you're not happy about this, but I couldn't miss out on this!" Beth said to Hitoshi.

"Beth, I'm disappointed in you," Hitoshi said as he sighed.

Hitoshi looked over at Logan and Mason.

"I don't even know who you two are and I'm disappointed in you two as well," Hitoshi told Logan and Mason.

"Hitoshi, it's probably a good thing they came along," Jirou said to Hitoshi. "We'll need all the help we can get to find my home,"

"Exactly, so let's just forget about this mess and get things started," Logan said as he placed his arm over Jirou's shoulders.

Hitoshi groaned in annoyance as he placed his hand over his face.

"Fine, but you two are carrying everything," Hitoshi told Mason and Logan.

"What about her?" Mason asked Hitoshi as he pointed at Beth.

Hitoshi looked over his shoulder and noticed a taxi pulling up in the background.

"You three are lucky it's a van," Hitoshi said as he began walking towards the taxi.

"You guys better get to carrying those suitcases over to the taxi," Jun said as she followed her father.

Mason groaned in frustration as he began grabbing suitcases off the ground.

"Let me help you," Jirou said as he went to grab a suitcase.

Mason slapped Jirou's hand away and quickly grabbed the suitcase.

"I don't need your help pal," Mason said as he walked by Jirou while carrying multiple suitcases.

"What's his problem?" Jirou asked Beth as he watched Logan and Mason carry the suitcases towards the taxi.

"Mason's always like that," Beth told Jirou as they followed Logan and Mason towards the taxi.

Up on a light post, one of Cosmo's Buzzcams was watching the teens walk towards the taxi. The Buzzcam zoomed in on a long bag Jirou was carrying over his shoulder. The Buzzcam quickly flew off as everyone entered the taxi.

Inside the control room on Cosmo's ship, Galvanax was watching the footage the Buzzcam captured of Jirou and the others arriving in Japan. Galvanax groaned in frustration as he slammed his fist down on the armrest of his seat.

"Cosmo, get me to Japan now," Galvanax said to Cosmo as Cosmo messed around with the control panel.

"Don't worry, we'll be there in a second," Cosmo said as he pressed a button.

"Once we arrive I will show those humans no mercy," Ripcon said as he rose from his seat.

"You don't even know what those humans are capable of," Madame Odius said to Ripcon.

"They're just weak humans," Ripcon said as he snickered. "What could they possibly do?"

"Remember, humans defeated Galvanax," Cosmo told Ripcon.

Cosmo looked over and saw Galvanax staring at him snarling.

"I'm going to pretend you didn't say that," Galvanax said as he looked away.

"My apologies," Cosmo said as he bowed to Galvanax. "However, I must get going,"

"Where are you going?" Ripcon asked Cosmo.

"The show must begin!" Cosmo said as he walked out of the room laughing maniacally.

"What a fool," Galvanax said as he leaned back in his seat.

Out in a small city, Hitoshi and the teens were unloading the suitcases out of the taxi in front of a hotel. Hitoshi handed one of his suitcases to Logan and quickly turned away to grab another one. Mason sighed as Hitoshi handed him the last suitcase.

"Originally I had one room reserved," Hitoshi said as the taxi drove off. "But now it looks like we're probably going to have to have two or three,"

"It'll be fine Hitoshi," Jirou said to Hitoshi as the group began walking inside.

"Everyone stay right here while I go talk to the woman at the counter," Hitoshi said to the teens as he walked away.

"He's never going to get over this," Beth said as she sat down in disappointment.

"Yeah and I bet he's never going to make me stop carrying his junk," Mason said as he dropped the suitcases in a chair next to him.

Beth looked over at Jun and saw her messing with her phone.

"What're you doing Jun?" Beth asked Jun as Jirou walked up next to Jun.

"I'm looking at my map app to try and find a place to start looking," Jun told Beth.

Jun's eyes suddenly lit up as Jirou looked over her shoulder at the phone.

"Oh my god we're idiots!" Jun said as she lowered her phone.

"What is it?" Logan asked Jun.

"It's so obvious," Jun said as she showed her phone to Beth.

"That city has the same name as you and Jirou's last name," Beth said as she looked at the phone.

"I bet that's where we need to go," Jun told the others.

"Huh, my village never had an actual name before," Jirou said as he began thinking.

"I guess they continued building around the area and turned it into a city after a few hundred years," Jun said as she looked back at her phone.

Jirou took Jun's phone away from her and looked at the screen.

"Hey!" Jun said as she went to grab her phone back.

Jirou placed his hand on Jun's forehead and kept her back.

"Is there a way to change how the landscapes appear on this thing?" Jirou asked Jun as he began shaking the phone.

"Give it to me and I'll fix that!" Jun said in frustration as she snatched her phone.

Jun tapped her screen and changed the map to a satellite view.

"Jun, that's it!" Jirou said in excitement. "I recognize those mountains near the city,"

Hitoshi came walking up and overheard the teens talking.

"What's going on?" Hitoshi asked Jun.

"Dad, we found where we need to go!" Jun said to her father as she turned towards him.

"Wait, how?" Hitoshi asked Jun.

"There's a city called Takayama a couple of miles away and Jirou recognized some of the places around the area," Jun said to her father.

"Alright, let's get our stuff up to our rooms first and go grab a rental car first, then we'll head that way," Hitoshi said as he placed his hand on Jun's shoulder.

Mason picked up the suitcases he sat down and began walking alongside Logan while following the others.

"Man this sucks," Mason said as he struggled towards the elevator.

A few hours later, Hitoshi and the teens pulled up into a town in the mountains. Jirou looked out his window in amazement at how much has changed since he left. Hitoshi noticed Jirou staring out the window and slowly stopped the van.

"Do you recognize anything?" Hitoshi asked Jirou.

"Yeah, especially the large temple in the center we could see from the roads," Jirou told Hitoshi. "It was where I lived,"

"Man, your family must have been rolling in dough!" Logan said as he chuckled while looking out his window.

Jirou stepped out of the van as two old women walked by chatting.

"Everything's so different," Jirou said as the others began getting out of the van.

"I'm going to go park somewhere and then we'll start looking around," Hitoshi said to the teens as he rolled down the passenger window.

"Alright, we'll see you in a minute," Jun said to her father.

Hitoshi drove off down the street and left the teens on the side of the road.

"Should we go to the temple first?" Beth asked everyone.

"Yeah, I think that's a good idea," Jirou said as he began walking away.

"Hopefully we can get inside," Logan said as he and the others followed Jirou around the corner and headed towards the temple.

"I wouldn't be surprised if they have the place protected," Jun said as she continued walking alongside the others.

"Even if we can't get in, it will still be nice to see the place up close again," Jirou told the others as he led them towards the temple.

As the teens approached the temple, many sightseers were standing at the gate to the temple taking photos with their phones.

"Good luck getting in there," Mason said as he sneered at Jirou.

Mason looked over and saw Jirou approaching the wall that surrounded the temple.

"Jirou, stop!" Jun shouted as Jirou prepared to jump.

Jun quickly ran over to Jirou and grabbed his arm.

"You can't just climb over the wall and bust in there!" Jun told Jirou as the others ran over.

"This is my home," Jirou said to Jun as he pulled his arm away.

"Yeah over four centuries ago," Logan said to Jirou.

"No one will believe you lived here if you told them either," Beth said to Jirou.

"How's it going?" Hitoshi asked the teens as he came walking up behind them.

"We can't get in the temple," Jun told her father as she turned towards him.

"I figured that would be a problem," Hitoshi said as he smiled.

"Oh, what's with the smile then?" Mason asked Hitoshi.

"Let's just say I might've confirmed where we need to go," Hitoshi told the teens as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Then take us there!" Jirou said as he walked up to Hitoshi.

"Settle down, we'll head there immediately," Hitoshi said as he began walking away.

"Finally things are about to get started," Beth said in excitement as she followed the others.

As the teens followed Hitoshi back to the car, a hooded person stepped out of a dark alley and saw the sword hanging on Jirou's back.

"Go ahead and lead me straight towards the chamber," The hooded person said as they started snickering.

Outside of the city, Hitoshi and the teens were approaching a large body of water with a waterfall crashing down from the mountain behind it. Beth looked out her window at the waterfall in amazement as she took pictures with her phone.

"Whoa, check out the rock formations over there!" Logan said as he looked out his window.

Jirou's eyes suddenly widened as he quickly turned his head.

"That's it!" Jirou said loudly as he saw the rock formations sticking out of the ground.

Hitoshi quickly turned off the road and began heading towards the rock formations.

"Are you positive this is the place?" Jun asked Jirou.

"Yes, this is where my grandfather gave me this sword," Jirou told Jun as Hitoshi pulled up in front of one of the formations.

Jirou quickly got out of the car and ran up to one of the formations.

"I thought we were looking for a chamber of some sort?" Mason said in confusion as he and Logan got out of the vehicle.

"The entrance is here somewhere," Jirou said as he began feeling the rock formation.

"Are you looking for a secret switch or something?" Beth asked Jirou as she walked up with Jun and Hitoshi.

Jirou gasped as he felt an indent in the rock.

"No, I completely forgot!" Jirou said in frustration.

"What's wrong?" Hitoshi asked Jirou.

"You can only access the chamber using a special shuriken only the grandmasters were given," Jirou said to Hitoshi.

Jirou fell to his knees and punched the ground in frustration.

"Come on there has to be another way in," Mason said as he walked up to the formation and began checking it out.

"Don't bother looking," Jirou said as he rose back to his feet.

"If only someone else was related to your people," Hitoshi said as he reached into his pocket.

Jun looked down at her father's pocket and saw him pull a shuriken out. Jirou looked up and saw Hitoshi walked up to the formation.

"Hitoshi, where did you get that?" Jirou asked Hitoshi as he placed the shuriken in the indent.

"It was passed down to me from my father when he died," Hitoshi told Jirou as he pressed the shuriken into the indent.

The ground suddenly began rumbling as Jirou rose back to his feet.

"You knew where to go the whole time," Jirou said to Hitoshi as a doorway opened on the rock formation.

"That's right," Hitoshi said as he smiled. "I'm the current grandmaster,"

"That explains why mom left you now," Jun said as she crossed her arms.

"And why I trained you all these years," Hitoshi said to Jun.

"What're we waiting for?" Mason asked everyone. "Let's get in there!"

Mason hurried into the entranceway with the others following behind him. As Beth walked inside, the hooded person from the city stepped out from behind one of the rock formations laughing evilly.

"Galvanax, they've led me straight to the chamber," The hooded person said to a Buzzcam that landed in his hand.

At the end of the stairway, Mason came into the chamber where many statues stood of past grandmasters of the Takayama clan. Mason gazed at the statues in disbelief as the others walked in behind him.

"Holy crap!" Beth said in amazement.

"I can't believe everything is the same as it was before," Jirou said as he walked up to a statue.

"Who's that?" Beth asked Jirou as she walked up next to him.

Jirou placed his hand on the name engraved on the wall beside the statue.

"Ichirou Takayama, my father," Jirou said as his eyes began watering.

Hitoshi walked over to a pedestal and began inspecting it.

"I still can't believe I've never been here before," Hitoshi said as Jun walked up beside him.

Jirou looked over at Hitoshi and saw him looking at a pedestal.

"That's where my sword was," Jirou told Hitoshi as he walked over.

Logan and Mason walked up to a statue and began gazing at it.

"This guy looks tough," Mason said to Logan.

"Yeah and creepy," Logan said as Jirou noticed them.

"That's him," Jirou said as he walked towards Logan and Mason.

"Who?" Logan asked Jirou.

"Norio Takayama," Jirou told Logan and Mason. "The Demon King,"

"Wait, he's the one you were locked away with?" Beth asked Jirou.

"Yeah, he was a grandmaster that became corrupted by a demon's curse," Jirou told Beth.

"He doesn't look like a demon to me," Mason said as he looked at the face of the statue.

"You haven't seen his true self," Jirou said as he walked away.

Over near the pedestal Jun placed her hand on an inscription on the wall.

"Hey, these symbols look familiar," Jun said to her father.

Hitoshi turned around and began inspecting the inscriptions.

"Yeah, they're the same ones on Jirou's sword," Hitoshi told Jun.

Hitoshi knelt down and noticed a small slit in the wall.

"Jirou, get over here with that sword!" Hitoshi said to Jirou.

Jirou and Beth walked over to Hitoshi and saw the slit in the wall.

"I think your sword is supposed to go in this," Hitoshi said to Jirou as Jirou pulled his sword out of the sheath.

"Let's find out," Jirou said as he inserted his sword into the slit.

Jirou pushed the sword in until it came up to the hilt.

"Did it do anything?" Beth said in confusion as she looked around.

A sudden rumble occurred startling everyone in the chamber.

"What was that?" Mason said in confusion as he looked over towards Jirou and the others.

Suddenly the wall behind Jirou where he inserted his sword began moving. Beth noticed the wall moving and gasped causing Jirou to turn around.

"What could be behind this wall?" Jirou wondered as the wall slowly moved aside.

Jirou walked through the opening and came to a room where water was falling from the ceiling from the lake above. Jirou looked in the center of the water and couldn't belief what he saw.

"What is it?" Hitoshi asked Jirou as he walked in along with the girls.

"It's a meteor!" Jirou said as he pointed towards the water.

"Why is it down here though?" Jun said in confusion.

"There's no way that thing isn't special," Logan said to everyone. "Jirou's ancestors wouldn't just hide a meteor down here for nothing,"

"You're right," Jirou said as he tossed his backpack aside.

"What're you doing?" Mason asked Jirou.

"I'm going to get a closer look," Jirou said as he took his shoes off.

Jirou ran towards the water and quickly dove in.

"Be careful!" Beth shouted as Jirou immerged out of the water.

Jirou slowly began swimming towards the meteor as the others stayed on land watching.

"What were you hiding from everyone grandfather?" Jirou said to himself as he came up to the meteor.

Jirou gently placed his hand on the meteor as the others cautiously watched.

"Nothing," Jirou said as he sighed.

As Jirou slowly turned away from the meteor, the meteor began glowing.

"Whoa!" Jirou shouted in astonishment as the light lit up the cavern.

"What's happening?" Logan said in confusion as he shielded his eyes.

Jirou slowly opened his eyes and saw the meteor beginning to break apart.

"No way!" Jirou said in disbelief as he watched the meteor continue breaking.

"I can't see anything!" Jun shouted as the cave began rumbling.

A large translucent shuriken broke out of the remains of the meteor spinning in midair above Jirou as the light began fading.

"Incredible!" Hitoshi said in amazement as the shuriken slowly began floating towards the others.

Jirou quickly swam back to the others as the shuriken landed on the ground.

"What is that?" Beth asked Hitoshi.

"I don't know, but I can tell it's important," Hitoshi said as he knelt down in front of the shuriken.

Jirou walked up to the shuriken and noticed something inside of it.

"What's inside of it?" Jirou asked Hitoshi.

"It looks like another shuriken of some sort," Hitoshi said as he looked closer.

"You should be ashamed of yourself boy," Someone said from the chamber beyond the wall.

"That voice!" Jirou said in disbelief as he turned towards the wall.

Galvanax walked through the opening in the wall with Ripcon and Madame Odius behind him.

"Jirou, is that Norio?" Beth asked Jirou.

"Yes, that's him," Jirou said as he began shivering.

Galvanax looked behind Jirou and saw the large translucent shuriken behind him.

"So, you unlocked that meteor's secret," Galvanax said to Jirou.

"Yeah, but it doesn't concern you," Jirou said to Galvanax.

"Oh, but you see it does," Galvanax told Jirou as he slowly began approaching him and the others. "I need the power of that artifact for myself,"

"Sorry pal, but we found it first," Mason said to Galvanax.

"This isn't finders keepers," Galvanax said to Mason.

"Kick this guy's butt again already," Mason said to Jirou.

"I can't," Jirou said with a look of horror on his face.

Ripcon began laughing as he noticed the look of horror on Jirou's face.

"You're a disgrace of a ninja if you're really that scared," Ripcon said to Jirou.

Galvanax walked up to Jirou and looked down at him.

"Move aside," Galvanax said to Jirou. "That artifact is coming with me,"

Galvanax walked passed Jirou and began making his way towards the artifact. Beth quickly ran out in front of Galvanax and spread her arms out.

"No, this artifact belongs to Jirou," Beth said to Galvanax.

"Move girl before I make you by force," Galvanax said to Beth.

"I'm not going anywhere," Beth said as she stood her ground.

"That's right," Hitoshi said as he stood next to Beth. "I'm a Takayama too, and it's my duty to make sure you fall,"

"You've got to be kidding me," Ripcon said as he chuckled.

"Fine, it looks like I'll just have to make you move then!" Galvanax shouted in anger as he pulled out his naginata.

"Dad!" Jun shouted as she quickly ran up beside her father.

"You'll have to make us all move then buddy," Logan said as he and Mason stepped up next to Beth.

"I will enjoy spilling your blood!" Galvanax shouted as he prepared to attack.

"Why're we doing this?" Mason asked Logan.

"Everything's going to be fine," Beth said to everyone beside her.

"Not for long!" Galvanax shouted as he swung his naginata at them.

Jirou quickly ran up to Galvanax and kicked him away from the others. Jirou fell to the ground after hitting the kick and was quickly helped to his feet by Hitoshi.

"I'm not losing my family and friends again because of you," Jirou said as he clenched his fist.

"I've been waiting to kill you for centuries," Galvanax said as he rose back to his feet.

Jirou looked down at the large shuriken and saw that the shuriken inside of it was glowing.

"What're you doing?" Galvanax asked Jirou as he saw Jirou kneel down in front of the shuriken.

"Making sure you don't take something that doesn't belong to you," Jirou said as he placed his hand on the shuriken.

Jirou's hand suddenly phased through the shuriken allowing him to grab the smaller shuriken inside of it.

"What on Earth?" Logan said in confusion as he watched Jirou pull the shuriken out.

Jirou turned back towards Galvanax with the silver shuriken with six different colored symbols on it.

"That shuriken will be mine!" Galvanax shouted as he took off running towards Jirou.

"Then you can have it!" Jirou shouted as he swiftly hurled the shuriken at Galvanax.

Galvanax knocked the shuriken away with his naginata causing it to shatter into pieces.

"Oh no!" Jirou said in horror as he watched the pieces fall to the ground.

"What have you done!" Galvanax shouted at Jirou. "You destroyed it!"

"I didn't think it would break that easily!" Jirou said in disbelief.

"What do we do now?" Jun asked her father.

"I don't know," Hitoshi said with a worried look on his face.

"I will make you pay for that!" Galvanax shouted as he went to strike Jirou.

The large shuriken suddenly began glowing and blinded Galvanax.

"My eyes!" Galvanax said in pain as he dropped his naginata.

"Look at that!" Beth said in amazement as the shards from the shuriken began flying back to the larger shuriken as it glowed.

The shards returned inside the translucent shuriken as each of them began glowing.

"What's going on now?" Ripcon asked Madame Odius.

The shards slowly began changing as Jirou knelt down in front of the shuriken. Jirou watched the shard glowing red transform into another shuriken before his eyes.

"Wow!" Jirou said in amazement as the other shards transformed into shurikens of different colors.

Jirou reached into the shuriken once again and grabbed the red shuriken inside of it.

"What is this?" Jirou said in confusion.

"This is legit!" Logan said as he and Mason knelt down in front of the shuriken.

Logan and Mason pulled out the yellow and blue shurikens and began laughing in excitement.

"Someone needs to stop them," Madame Odius said to Ripcon as Galvanax regained his sight.

"I'm about to destroy you all!" Galvanax shouted angrily as he picked up his naginata off the ground.

"Hurry!" Jun said as she and Beth quickly reached into the large shuriken.

The two girls quickly pulled out the pink and white shurikens leaving just one shuriken inside. Hitoshi quickly went to grab the shuriken left inside but couldn't get through.

"What's going on?" Hitoshi said in confusion. "It's not letting me get it!"

"Those belong to me!" Galvanax shouted as he fired a blast from his naginata.

"Watch out!" Jirou shouted as he and the other teens dove out of the way.

The blast flew to the back of the cavern and struck the wall.

"Please tell me these things can stop him," Logan said to Jirou.

"I hope so," Jirou said as his left hand began glowing.

Jirou looked down at his hand and gasped as a large four-point shuriken with a handle appeared in his hand.

"What on Earth is this?" Jirou said in confusion.

"Where did that object come from?" Galvanax asked Ripcon and Madame Odius.

"Jirou, it looks like that shuriken can connect to that thing in your hand," Hitoshi told Jirou.

"You're right," Jirou said as he noticed the indent on the large shuriken.

"I think it's time for the cavalry," Madame Odius proclaimed.

"Let's see how these Kudabots Cosmo created handle them," Galvanax said as a horde of Kudabots instantly appeared around him and his allies.

"What are those things?" Mason asked the others.

"They look just like the fallen warriors," Jirou said to Mason.

"Those guys are robotic though," Beth said to Jirou.

"Attack!" Galvanax shouted as he pointed his naginata at Jirou and the others.

Logan screamed in horror as the Kudabots began running towards him and the others.

"Do something already!" Logan shouted at Jirou as he hid behind Mason.

Jirou inserted the shuriken into the indent on the larger shuriken.

"Now what do I do?" Jirou asked himself.

The Kudabots took aim at Jirou with their blasters. Jirou looked up at the Kudabots and saw them beginning to fire at him.

"Spin the shuriken!" Hitoshi shouted at Jirou as he protected Jun.

Jirou quickly spun the red shuriken causing it to begin glowing.

"What?" Galvanax said in confusion as Jirou's body began glowing along with the shuriken.

The blasts began hitting Jirou causing an explosion. The force from the explosion pushed the other teens and Hitoshi back and sent them crashing into the water.

"There's no way he survived that," Ripcon said as he snickered.

"I'm just getting started," Jirou said as the smoke from the explosion began fading away.

"Impossible!" Galvanax said in disbelief as he saw someone standing in the smoke.

Madame Odius gasped as the smoke cleared and saw a red warrior standing across from her.

"He's a Power Ranger now!" Madame Odius said in astonishment.

"What the hell is that?" Galvanax asked Madame Odius.

Jirou looked down at his hands and saw that he had transformed.

"This power," Jirou said as he clenched his fist. "It's insane!"

Beth climbed out of the water and saw a Red Ranger standing in front of her.

"Jirou?" Beth said in confusion.

Jirou looked over his shoulder and saw the other climbing out of the water.

"I'll send these guys packing," Jirou said as he nodded to the others.

"Wait, did Jirou just turn into a Power Ranger?" Logan asked the others.

"Are you serious?" Mason said in disbelief as he rose to his feet.

The Kudabots took aim at Jirou once again and began firing at him.

"Look out!" Jun shouted at Jirou as Jirou turned back towards the Kudabots.

A sword instantly appeared in Jirou's hand as the blasts flew towards him. In the blink of an eye, Jirou quickly knocked away each of the blasts as they came at him.

"That speed is incredible!" Logan said in amazement.

"It's show time now!" Jirou shouted as he took off running towards the Kudabots.

Jirou ran up to one of the Kudabots and slashed it with his sword quickly destroying it.

"Ripcon, you stay here and handle this," Galvanax said to Ripcon.

"What, why me?" Ripcon asked Galvanax.

"Because I said so," Galvanax said as he began walking away.

Jirou struck another Kudabot and knocked it away and saw that Galvanax was leaving.

"I'm not finished with you!" Jirou shouted as he went after Galvanax.

Ripcon ran out in front of Jirou and struck him with his two swords. Jirou fell back to the ground in pain and was quickly surrounded by Kudabots.

"You're not going anywhere," Ripcon said as he pointed his sword down at Jirou on the ground.

"He needs help," Beth said as she pulled out her white shuriken.

"Beth, are you crazy?" Mason asked Beth.

"I'm not going to stand her and watch Jirou get hurt," Beth said as she squeezed tightly on the shuriken in her hand.

"You guys can stay here and hide if you want," Jun said as she walked up beside Beth. "But I'm helping Beth save Jirou,"

Beth and Jun's shurikens suddenly began glowing causing a larger shuriken to appear in their hands.

"Let's do this," Beth said to Jun as she and Jun inserted their shurikens into the larger shurikens.

Beth and Jun spun the shurikens on their devices as they took off running towards Jirou and the enemies. The two girls instantly transformed stunning Mason and Logan as they stood back and watched.

"They did it too!" Logan said in amazement to Mason.

Mason looked down in his hand at his shuriken and groaned in frustration.

"Be a wimp if you want, but I'm not being a coward like you," Mason said as his shuriken began glowing.

Logan gasped as a larger shuriken appeared in Mason's hand in front of his eyes. Mason inserted his shuriken into the larger shuriken and quickly spun it as he took off running causing him to transform into a blue ranger.

"Ugh, I hate my life!" Logan shouted as his shuriken began glowing.

Logan inserted his yellow shuriken into the larger shuriken that suddenly appeared in his other hand.

"Here I come!" Logan shouted as he spun the shuriken causing him to morph.

Ripcon raised his sword into the air and prepared to attack Jirou as he was held down on the ground by the Kudabots.

"You're a coward!" Jirou shouted at Ripcon as he struggled to break free of the Kudabots.

"No, I'm just evil!" Ripcon shouted as he laughed.

Ripcon went to strike Jirou with his sword but was quickly blocked by four swords. Jirou gasped when he saw four other Rangers hit Ripcon with their swords and knocked him away.

"Guys!" Jirou said as the Kudabots released him and went after the others.

"We're here for you!" Jun shouted at Jirou as she struck a Kudabot with her sword.

"Always!" Beth shouted as she evaded one of the Kudabot's spears.

"I don't want to do this, but something inside me said to go for it," Logan said as he slid past a Kudabot and struck one that was waiting behind it.

Mason picked up a Kudabot and hurled it towards the cave wall.

"No one's dying on my watch," Mason said as Jirou rose to his feet.

Ripcon rose back to his feet and saw the other Rangers battling the Kudabots.

"No, they're overpowering us!" Ripcon said in astonishment.

"Get out of my sight!" Jun shouted as she slashed another Kudabot.

Beth struck the final Kudabot with her sword and easily destroyed it as the other Rangers ran up to her.

"That just leaves you pal," Mason said as he pointed his sword at Ripcon.

"Go ahead and try me tough guy," Ripcon said as he prepared for an attack.

"Follow my lead," Jirou said as he attached his shuriken to the indent on his sword.

"Right!" The others said as they did the same.

The Ranger's swords began glowing their respective colors as the Rangers prepared to attack.

"What's this?" Ripcon said in confusion as the Rangers swung their swords and sent five energy slashes towards him.

Ripcon screamed as each of the slashes struck him. Ripcon fell to one knee holding his chest in pain where he was hit.

"I'm far from finished," Ripcon said to the Rangers as he slowly rose to his feet.

"No way!" Jirou said in disbelief.

"However, this is the end for today," Ripcon said as his eyes began glowing.

Ripcon instantly teleported away in front of the Rangers as Hitoshi walked up behind them.

"Outstanding!" Hitoshi said to the Rangers.

"I can't believe we became Power Rangers!" Logan said to Mason as he grabbed his shoulder.

"Stop geeking out," Mason said as he pushed Logan's hand away.

"Dad, how did you know how to use these?" Jun asked her father as she pulled out her morpher.

"Let's just say it was a lucky guess," Hitoshi said as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"What do we do about this thing though?" Jirou asked Hitoshi as he walked up to the translucent shuriken.

"Well, we can't let those creeps come back for it," Hitoshi said as he walked over to Jirou.

"Wait a second," Jirou said as he knelt down in front of the shuriken.

"What's the matter?" Beth asked Jirou.

"I thought there was a sixth shuriken in here?" Jirou asked the others.

Hitoshi looked down at the shuriken and gasped when he saw that the shuriken was gone.

"Did someone take it?" Hitoshi asked Jirou.

"No one ever came up to it except us," Jirou told Hitoshi.

"Well, then who took it?" Jun asked her father.

Outside of the cave a person in a hooded robe looked down at their hand and had the gold shuriken from the large translucent shuriken in their hand. The person walked up to one of the rock formations and bumped into Madame Odius causing him to gasp.

"I didn't expect you to still be here," The hooded person said to Odius.

"Did you get that other shuriken?" Madame Odius asked him.

"Yes ma'am," The person said as he revealed the shuriken.

"Good," Madame Odius said as she took the shuriken from him.

"Now we need to find out how to unlock this shuriken's powers," Madame Odius said as she began snickering.

A few days later back in Dorado Bay, the Rangers were sitting in the back room of the antique shop waiting on Hitoshi to show up. Mason sighed as he leaned against the wall in boredom. Hitoshi suddenly stumbled into the back room and saw everyone waiting on him.

"That took way too long," Mason said to Hitoshi.

"Sorry, I was just finishing things up front," Hitoshi said to Mason.

"Dad, what is this about?" Jun asked her father.

"Well, since you're all Power Rangers now, I thought it would be a great idea to have a secret place to train and receive warnings from," Hitoshi told everyone.

"But we're just in the back room of your store?" Logan said in confusion.

"This isn't the base," Hitoshi said as he sighed.

Hitoshi pulled a small remote out of his pocket and pressed a button on it. A piece of the wall suddenly moved aside and revealed a staircase going underground. Jun walked up to the hole and looked down the stairs.

"Dad, how much did this cost?" Jun asked her father.

"Don't worry I got someone to help me out with it," Hitoshi said as he began walking down the stairs.

The Rangers followed Hitoshi downstairs and came into a room with a small fountain in the center of the room.

"This is just the first room," Hitoshi said to the teens. "This is where you'll just hang out,"

Mason walked over to one of the couches and sat down as Hitoshi walked up to a sliding door. Hitoshi pressed a button on the wall causing the door to slide open.

"And this is where you'll train," Hitoshi said as he stepped out of the way.

Jirou looked inside the next room and saw punching bags hanging from the ceiling along with gear hanging on the walls of the large room.

"Wow, this isn't so bad," Beth said as she smiled.

"And last but not least is the lab!" Hitoshi said as he opened another sliding door across the room.

Logan ran into the lab and began squealing in excitement as he saw computers lined up along the walls.

"This is awesome!" Logan shouted as the others walked in.

"I also put the Ninja Nexus Prism in here to study it some more," Hitoshi told the Rangers.

"Wait, the what?" Jun asked her father.

"Yeah, did you name that large shuriken that?" Beth asked Hitoshi.

Hitoshi slowly turned away from the Rangers and sighed.

"I think you've been hiding something from us," Jirou said to Hitoshi.

"Yeah, Jirou's right," Jun said as she crossed her arms.

Jun walked up to her father and placed her hand on his shoulder.

"Dad, please just tell us," Jun said to her father.

Hitoshi turned towards Jun and nodded.

"Alright, I'll get to explaining things," Hitoshi said as he sat down in a chair.

On Cosmo's ship, Galvanax was causing a ruckus throwing objects across the room in frustration. Cosmo scurried into the room and saw a Kudabot crash into the wall next to him.

"Galvanax!" Cosmo shouted in horror.

"What do you want?" Galvanax asked Cosmo.

"I know you're still mad about what happened, but I have something important to tell you," Cosmo said to Galvanax.

"Then say it," Galvanax said as he walked towards Cosmo.

"I've received messages from many aliens from across the universe!" Cosmo said to Galvanax. "They want to participate on my game show for you,"

"This isn't a game Cosmo," Galvanax said as he grabbed Cosmo by his shoulder and lifted him off the ground.

"Yes I know, but aliens would enjoy watching other aliens battle the Power Rangers," Cosmo told Galvanax. "It would bring new warriors for you to attack the Rangers with,"

"Would these so called warriors obtain those shurikens for me?" Galvanax asked Cosmo.

"I'm sure there's someone who can," Cosmo told Galvanax.

Galvanax released Cosmo causing him to fall to the ground.

"Fine, begin contacting these warriors and tell them the games begin today!" Galvanax shouted at Cosmo.

"Yes sir!" Cosmo said as he bowed to Galvanax.

"I don't care how many warriors it takes, but that brat will not keep those powers away from me," Galvanax said as Cosmo ran out of the room in a hurry.

Galvanax punched the wall in anger as his eyes began glowing.

"I will wipe out that damn ninja clan once and for all," Galvanax said angrily.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Power of the Prism

In the Ranger's base beneath the antique shop, Hitoshi had his back turned towards the Rangers. Hitoshi sighed as he slowly turned towards the Rangers and saw them waiting for him to speak up.

"The Ninja Nexus Prism is a sacred item," Hitoshi said to the Rangers. "Barely anyone from the Takayama clan ever sees it with their own eyes,"

Hitoshi pulled a shuriken out of his pocket and revealed it to the teens.

"This shuriken is passed on to the next grand master and it grants access to the chamber where the Prism was hidden," Hitoshi told the Rangers.

"Then you're the current grand master," Jirou said as he leaned against the wall with his arms crossed.

"That's right," Hitoshi said as he nodded.

"Dad, why did you keep this a secret from me?" Jun asked her father.

"Because there was no point in being a grand master anymore," Hitoshi said as he sat the shuriken down on a table. "I was the only Takayama left that was trained to be a ninja,"

"Until Jun was born," Logan said to Hitoshi.

Hitoshi silently nodded as Beth walked up to the Ninja Nexus Prism.

"Then what was that shuriken that was inside the Prism before it split apart?" Beth asked Hitoshi.

"That was the Ninja Nexus Power Star," Hitoshi told Beth. "I didn't know it could split into six different Power Stars though,"

"You only knew it would grant powers to its holder," Logan said to Hitoshi.

"Yeah, but the star didn't work for everyone," Hitoshi said to Logan. "I'm still surprised it worked for everyone but Jirou and Jun,"

"Are you saying only Takayama's could use the powers?" Beth asked Hitoshi.

"Sort of, but it didn't work for me," Hitoshi told Beth.

"That was odd," Mason said as he sat down in a chair.

"Not only that," Jirou said to everyone. "We don't even know who took that last Power Star,"

"That sounds like something we should work on finding out first," Logan said to Jirou.

"It was only us and those freaks there," Mason said to the others. "One of them had to of taken it,"

"No, demons aren't able to phase through the Prism," Hitoshi told Mason.

Hitoshi walked over to the Prism and looked closely at it.

"Jirou, I'm stepping down as grand master," Hitoshi said to Jirou.

Hitoshi turned towards Jirou.

"I want you to take over," Hitoshi said to Jirou.

"Right after you finally told us?" Jun asked her father.

"Jirou is obviously meant to be the grand master now," Hitoshi said to Jun. "Plus I've done nothing as the grand master,"

"That's not true," Jun said to her father. "We wouldn't have gotten the Prism and our powers if it wasn't for you!"

"Will you take my place?" Hitoshi asked Jirou as he ignored Jun.

Jirou sighed as he slowly approached Hitoshi. Jirou placed his hand on Jirou's shoulder.

"Sorry, it's too late for me," Jirou said to Hitoshi.

"What?" Logan said in confusion.

"Jirou, what're you doing?" Beth asked Jirou.

"I had my chance to be a grand master before and I blew that chance when I locked myself away with Norio," Jirou said to the others.

"I can't believe it," Hitoshi said as he backed away from Jirou. "I didn't think you would decline,"

"Right now being a grand master isn't important," Jirou told Hitoshi. "Fighting for my family's name comes first,"

"I see," Hitoshi said as he sighed.

"Maybe once we take care of Norio, I'll reconsider," Jirou said to Hitoshi.

"Then as your grand master, I'll make sure you're all ready when Norio strikes," Hitoshi said to Jirou as he smiled.

Hitoshi walked over to a computer and pressed a key on the keyboard. An image of the large shuriken the Rangers used to morph suddenly appeared on the screen.

"I'm sure you remember this device," Hitoshi said to the teens. "It's going to be called the Ninja Battle Morpher,"

"Morpher?" Logan said in confusion.

"Sounds good to me," Beth said as she smiled.

"What about the swords we used?" Jun asked her father.

"That is going to be your Ninja Star Blade," Hitoshi said to Jun.

"I like the sound of that," Logan said as he nodded.

"I'm still studying the Prism in case it's hiding anymore secrets," Hitoshi said to the Rangers.

"You think that thing might have something else for us?" Jirou asked Hitoshi.

"I have no idea, but that's why I'm studying it," Hitoshi told Jirou.

"Dad, what exactly is all this gear made from?" Jun asked her father as she pointed at the images of the morpher and blade on the screen.

"Ninja Steel, just like Jirou's sword that was gifted to him," Hitoshi told Jun. "Even the Power Stars are made of it,"

Jirou pulled out his Power Star and looked closely at it.

"Ninja Steel," Jirou said as he gazed at his Power Star.

Mason sneered in disgust as he turned towards the exit.

"Where are you going?" Logan asked Mason as he saw him walking out the door.

"I don't have time for this," Mason said to Logan.

"Hey!" Jirou shouted at Mason as he put his Power Star away.

Jirou ran out in front of Mason causing him to come to a halt.

"Get out of my way," Mason said as he shoved Jirou aside and continued walking.

Logan caught Jirou as Jirou began falling to the ground.

"You're part of this team!" Jirou shouted at Mason. "We can't beat Norio without you!"

"I'm not a team player," Mason said as he sat his Power Star down on the front desk.

Jirou groaned in frustration as Mason left the shop.

"What's his problem?" Jirou asked Logan.

"He'll come back, I know he will," Logan said as he looked over at Mason's Power Star in concern.

On board Cosmo's ship, Cosmo walked out onto a stage where bright lights shined down on him as a crowd of aliens roared at him. Cosmo waved to the crowd as he chuckled. The crowd slowly began quieting down as Cosmo raised a microphone towards his mouth.

"Welcome to Galaxy Warriors!" Cosmo screamed through the microphone causing the crowd to roar once again.

Cosmo began laughing in excitement as the crowd continued cheering.

"Now for our first episode, we will be sending a random alien down to Earth and we're going to see just how much chaos they can cause!" Cosmo shouted as he raised his left arm into the air.

A mechanical looking alien with chainsaw-like arms walked out from behind the curtain as the chains on his blades moved.

"Our first contestant is Ripperat!" Cosmo shouted as Ripperat screamed at the crowd.

"What do I get when I win?" Ripperat asked Cosmo.

"Not only do you get your own planet to rule over, you also become the strongest warrior in the universe!" Cosmo shouted to Ripperat and the crowd.

"So, just torturing a few weaklings on Earth is all I have to do?" Ripperat asked Cosmo.

"Not entirely," Cosmo told Ripperat. "There will be five warriors who will try to stop you,"

"No one will survive my saws," Ripperat said to Cosmo. "Not even these so called warriors,"

The crowd began roaring for Ripperat as a pair of Kudabots walked him off the stage.

"To assist Ripperat will be a group of Kudabots!" Cosmo shouted. "Hopefully they make things easier for him!"

Cosmo stepped out of the way of a large screen as it turned on.

"Now let's watch Ripperat's carnage!" Cosmo shouted as Ripperat appeared on the screen with a group of Kudabots behind him.

Back down on Earth, Ripperat and the Kudabots began attacking people in the area. Ripperat struck a man's car with one of his saws causing the man to quickly get out in horror. Ripperat shoved the car aside as the man ran off in horror.

"This is too easy!" Ripperat shouted as he laughed evilly.

A little boy nearby was then heard crying and caught Ripperat's attention.

"This is going to be over soon kid," Ripperat said as his saw began moving.

The little boy screamed in horror as Ripperat's saw came up close to him. A rock suddenly hit Ripperat in the side of the head causing him to back off from the boy.

"Who threw that?" Ripperat said in confusion as he looked over.

"I'm assuming you're working for that Norio freak," Mason said as he threw another rock at Ripperat.

Ripperat knocked the rock away with one of his saws and groaned in frustration.

"Are you one of those warriors I have to defeat?" Ripperat asked Mason. "You sure look weak,"

Mason looked over at the little boy and saw him cowering against a wall.

"Run kid," Mason said to the boy.

The little boy rose to his feet and began running away until the Kudabots surrounded him.

"He's not going anywhere," Ripperat said to Mason.

"Targeting children I see?" Mason said to Ripperat. "That's such a cowardly act,"

"Who are you calling a coward?" Ripperat asked Mason. "I'm not the one throwing rocks!"

"Then show me what you're made of freak," Mason said to Ripperat.

Back at the Rangers base beneath the antique shop an alarm began going off. Hitoshi rolled over to the console in his chair and brought up footage from the location that set off the alarm. Jirou walked up behind Hitoshi and looked up at the screen.

"Looks like a monster attack," Jirou said to Hitoshi.

Jirou's eyes widened as he noticed Mason in the video.

"What is he thinking?" Jirou said in confusion.

"What's going on?" Logan asked Jirou as he walked over.

Logan looked at the monitor and gasped when he saw Mason fighting Kudabots on his own.

"He's going to get himself killed!" Logan said to Jirou.

"We need to get out there before Mason gets hurt," Beth said to the others.

"Or something worse than that happens," Jun said as she nodded.

"Logan, grab Mason's Power Star," Jirou said as he walked towards the exit.

"What're you doing Mason?" Logan said to himself as he grabbed the Blue Power Star off the desk.

Logan ran out of the base right behind Jirou and the others and headed off towards Mason's location.

"I hope they know what they're getting into," Hitoshi said to himself as he watched the footage.

Out in the streets of the city, Mason was protecting the little boy from the Kudabots as Ripperat stood by watching in amusement. One of the Kudabots quickly grabbed Mason's right arm restraining him.

"Let go of me you piece of scrap metal!" Mason shouted as he struggled to break free.

"I'll finish him off," Ripperat said as his saws began moving.

Kudabots quickly grabbed the little boy causing him to begin screaming and crying.

"Leave him alone!" Mason shouted as he continued trying to free his arm.

"You won't be won't be so tough after I cut you to pieces," Ripperat said as he approached Mason.

As Ripperat came up to Mason, Mason quickly shut his eyes in horror.

"This is the end of you!" Ripperat shouted as he went in to cut Mason.

Out of nowhere someone wearing a black ninja gi with red accents and a mask kicked Ripperat causing him to stumble aside. Mason opened his eyes and saw the ninja standing in front of him. The ninja quickly kicked the Kudabot restraining Mason causing it to let go of Mason.

"Are you really that stupid?" The ninja asked Mason. "You could've gotten yourself and that kid killed!"

"I didn't need your help Jirou!" Mason shouted at Jirou as he turned away.

Mason looked over and saw the others wearing suits similar to Jirou's fighting the Kudabots off of the little boy.

"Your attitude is your problem!" Jirou said to Mason.

"No, my problem is people like you!" Mason shouted at Jirou. "I don't take orders from you!"

"Then you're just not a team player it seems," Jirou said to Mason. "Jun and I are the only ones who know what we're doing,"

"I know I'm doing the right thing," Mason said as he began walking towards Ripperat.

Ripperat rose back to his feet and saw Mason walking towards him.

"You're making a huge mistake," Ripperat said as he snickered.

"Mason!" Logan shouted as he held a Kudabot by its arm and saw Mason going towards Ripperat.

Jirou grabbed Mason by the arm trying to stop him.

"Don't touch me!" Mason shouted as he turned around and threw a punch at Mason.

Jirou ducked and easily avoided the fist.

"I'm not letting you fight that thing on your own!" Jirou shouted at Mason. "Especially not without your Power Star!"

"I'm not a part of your team!" Mason shouted as he shoved Jirou off of him.

Jirou quickly ran at Mason and tackled him out of the way of Ripperat as Ripperat went to strike Mason.

"Drop the attitude before it gets you killed!" Jirou shouted at Mason as he rose to his feet.

"How about you drop dead and join the rest of your family six feet underground," Mason said to Jirou as he turned away from Jirou.

"These two just won't stop bickering!" Ripperat said in annoyance.

Jirou quickly grabbed Mason's arm and flipped him to the ground. Jirou continued holding onto Mason's arm keeping him from getting up.

"I can tell you're hiding something that's troubling you!" Jirou shouted at Mason as he held him down. "I can help you overcome it,"

"Get off of me!" Mason shouted at Jirou.

Jun kicked the last Kudabot causing it to fall to the ground.

"Those two are just fighting each other!" Jun said to Beth and Logan.

"Do something Logan!" Beth said to Logan as Logan had the little boy by his side.

"Watch after the kid," Logan said to the girls as he ran off towards Jirou and Mason.

Logan ran up to Jirou and shoved him off of Mason. Mason quickly got to his feet and went to punch Jirou. Logan grabbed Mason's arm and stopped him in his tracks.

"That's enough!" Logan shouted at Mason.

"Get off of me man!" Mason shouted at Logan.

"No, not until you stop acting like this!" Logan said to Mason.

Jirou looked at the look in Logan's eyes.

"We need you Mason," Logan said to Mason as he continued holding him back. "Please just help us take out this monster,"

Mason groaned in annoyance as he stopped struggling.

"I need you," Logan said to Mason as he let him go.

Logan pulled out the Blue Power Star and held it out to Mason.

"I'm not taking orders from you," Mason said as he looked at Jirou.

"As long as that monster is destroyed, it's fine," Jirou said to Mason.

Mason took the Power Star from Logan as Ripperat stepped out in front of the boys.

"Get that kid out of here!" Mason shouted to Beth and Jun.

"Alright, we'll be back in a second," Jun said to Mason as she and Beth ran off with the little boy.

"Oh come on, that fight was fixing to get good!" Ripperat shouted at the boys.

"I'm fixing to show you a good fight," Mason said as the morphers appeared in the boy's hands.

"It's Morphin Time!" Jirou shouted as he and the others set their Power Stars in their morphers.

"Ninja Spin!" The three shouted as they spun the Power Stars activating their morphers.

Ripperat screamed as a bright light flashed before him briefly.

"What's going on?" Ripperat said in confusion as the three morphed.

Ripperat looked up and saw three Power Rangers standing before him.

"Let's get started!" Mason shouted as he ran towards Ripperat.

Mason quickly kicked Ripperat and sent him flying across the street with ease. Ripperat narrowly landed back on his feet as Jirou ran towards him.

"Ninja Battle Morpher, Blade Mode!" Jirou shouted as a blade formed on his morpher.

Jirou struck Ripperat with the blade on his morpher and quickly moved aside.

"Ninja Battle Morpher, Claw Mode!" Logan shouted as he jabbed Ripperat in the gut with the three blades that appeared on his morpher.

"Looks like there's one more mode," Mason said as his morpher changed into a new mode.

Logan and Jirou quickly moved out of the way as Mason took aim at Ripperat.

"Ninja Battle Morpher, Bow Mode!" Mason shouted as he fired an energy arrow at Ripperat.

The arrow struck Ripperat and exploded on contact causing Ripperat to crash into a wall behind him. Ripperat fell to the ground moaning in pain.

"Had enough yet freak?" Mason asked Ripperat.

"I've got plenty of gas in my tank," Ripperat said as his saws began glowing.

Ripperat fired energy waves from his saws and struck each of the Rangers causing them to fall to the ground.

"I didn't see that coming," Logan said as he slowly rose up.

"We need to hit him harder," Mason said as he got to his feet.

"We're going to need Jun and Beth for that," Jirou said to Mason.

"Now it's time for you to die!" Ripperat shouted as he slung two more energy waves at the boys.

"Oh no!" Jirou shouted as he prepared for the attack.

Two energy arrows quickly hit the energy waves causing them to explode in midair.

"Wait, what?" Ripperat said in confusion.

Ripperat looked over and saw a Pink Ranger and a White Ranger join the others.

"Nice timing," Logan said to the girls.

"I knew you guys couldn't handle this without us," Jun said as she giggled.

"We were making sure you didn't miss the action," Mason said to Jun.

"Now's my chance to get all five Power Stars!" Ripperat said in excitement.

"That's not happening," Jirou said to Ripperat. "Not now, not ever,"

All five of the Rangers transformed their morphers into bow mode and took aim at Ripperat.

"Ninja Battle Morphers!" The Rangers shouted as the energy arrows began glowing.

The Rangers fired the five arrows at Ripperat hitting him one after another.

"I'm still standing!" Ripperat shouted as Jirou pulled out his Ninja Star Blade.

"Not for long," Jirou said as he dashed towards Ripperat.

Jirou placed his Ninja Power Star on his sword and spun it.

"Red Ninja Strike!" Jirou shouted as he began striking Ripperat continuously at blinding speed.

Jirou suddenly landed in front of the others as Ripperat fell to the ground in the background and exploded.

"Where did that speed come from?" Beth asked Jirou.

"That's what training to be a ninja grants you," Jirou said as he held his sword over his shoulder.

Up on Cosmo's ship, the crowd of monsters were booing loudly as they watched Ripperat fall easily to the Rangers. Cosmo walked out onto the stage trying to settle the monsters down.

"Alright, should we give Ripperat another go?" Cosmo asked the crowd.

The crowd began cheering loudly causing Cosmo to turn towards a console behind him.

"Then let's head to round 2!" Cosmo shouted as he pressed a large button on the console. "Gigantify!"

A laser fired from the ship and went down towards the city.

In the city the Rangers gasped when they saw the laser strike where Ripperat was defeated. Ripperat's body suddenly reformed as it began growing. The Rangers backed away as Ripperat continued growing and regained consciousness.

"I'm back!" Ripperat shouted as he towered above the skyscrapers near him.

"How do we deal with something that big?" Mason asked the others.

"Hopefully dad knows something," Jun said in concern.

"Don't' worry Jun, the Ninja Nexus Prism always has an answer," Hitoshi said as he walked up to the Rangers.

"What're you doing out here?" Jun asked her father.

"I just came to deliver you something," Hitoshi said to his daughter as he revealed a new Ninja Power Star.

Hitoshi handed each of the Rangers a new Power Star.

"These will summon your zords," Hitoshi told the Rangers.

"Zords?" Beth said in confusion.

"Large machines capable of handling giant problems like this," Hitoshi said as he smirked.

"Then let's try these bad boys out," Mason said as he pulled out his Ninja Star Blade.

The other Rangers pulled out their Ninja Star Blades and placed their Zord Stars on them.

"Ninja Spin!" The Rangers shouted as they spun the stars on their swords.

The stars began glowing causing the Rangers to gasp in awe. Behind Ripperat, a side of a building suddenly turned around revealing a large red robot was hiding inside. Up in the sky, a large kite suddenly appeared and transformed into a dragon. Ripperat turned around and saw a piece of the road flip over and reveal a large dump truck.

"What's going on here?" Ripperat said in confusion.

A train rode past Ripperat and transformed revealing a large dog riding in the back compartment. Jirou leapt into the air and landed on the left shoulder of his zord.

"Jirou, that's your Robo Red Zord!" Hitoshi shouted at Jirou from below.

Mason landed on the head of his zord as it flew by over Ripperat's head.

"That's your Dragon Zord Mason!" Hitoshi said to Mason.

Logan landed on top of the dump truck and kneeled down on one knee as the dump truck began moving.

"The Nitro Zord is yours Logan," Hitoshi told Logan.

"And that just leaves us," Jun said as she and Beth landed on their zords.

"The Zoom Zord and Kodiak Zord are a dynamic duo for you two," Hitoshi told the girls as the Zooom Zord went by.

"I can handle your new toys," Ripperat said as he approached Jirou and the Robo Red Zord.

"Let's see what these things can do!" Jirou shouted as Ripperat went to attack his zord.

The Robo Red Zord instantly disappeared in a cloud of smoke confusing Ripperat.

"Where did he go?" Ripperat said in confusion.

The Robo Red Zord suddenly appeared behind Ripperat and kicked him in the back. Ripperat stumbled forward as Logan launched large caltrops out of the hull of his Nitro Zord. Ripperat stepped on the caltrops and screamed in pain as he continued stumbling.

"My feet!" Ripperat shouted as he screamed in pain.

Ripperat looked up ahead and saw the Zoom Zord coming towards him.

"Fire!" Jun shouted as her zord began firing energy shurikens from the star marking on the front of it.

The energy shurikens struck Ripperat as Beth's Kodiak Zord leapt out of the Zoom Zord. The Kodiak Zord rammed into Ripperat and sent him over towards the Dragon Zord.

"This is it!" Mason shouted as the Dragon Zord began flying around Ripperat.

The Dragon Zord began breathing flames and surrounded Ripperat with a blue flaming tornado.

"It's getting too hot!" Ripperat shouted as the flames grew hotter.

Ripperat suddenly exploded within the tornado causing the tornado to fade away. The Dragon Zord let out a loud roar as the zords gathered up.

"Nice going guys," Jirou said to the others from the left shoulder of his zord.

"I think I can handle doing this every now and then," Beth said in excitement.

A few minutes later the Rangers returned to the base and removed their helmets in front of Hitoshi. Hitoshi looked over at Mason and saw that something was troubling him.

"Mason, are you still not pleased?" Hitoshi asked Mason.

"I'm fine," Mason said to Hitoshi.

"Come on, if something's wrong, just tell us," Beth said to Mason.

Mason looked over at Beth standing beside Jirou and sat his helmet on a table.

"Seriously, it's nothing," Mason said as he rolled his eyes.

"Well, are you at least going to stay with us this time?" Logan asked Mason.

"Who else is going to protect a dork like you from all those monsters?" Mason asked Logan as he began smiling.

Mason gave Logan a high five as Logan began laughing.

"You five need to remember, this is just the beginning," Hitoshi told the Rangers.

"We know," Jun said as she nodded.

"Tomorrow once you get out of school your training begins," Hitoshi said to the Rangers. "Even Jirou and Jun will need to train with their new gear,"

"And I'll make sure you all learn the ways of a ninja," Jirou said to the others.

"I'm not training with him," Mason said as he turned away from Jirou.

Mason gasped when he saw Jirou standing in front of him.

"How did you do that?" Mason asked Jirou.

"You'll find out when you train," Jirou said as he patted on Mason's shoulder.

Mason stayed behind as the other Rangers walked out of the base laughing. Hitoshi walked up to Mason and looked at the look on his face.

"Whatever the problem is, we'll help you get over it," Hitoshi said to Mason. "No matter what's causing it,"

"Hopefully," Mason said as he looked in the next room at the others celebrating without him.


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Ninja in the Streets

Onboard Cosmo's ship, Cosmo was standing in front of a cheering crowd of monsters and aliens. Cosmo began laughing as he waved to the crowd in joy. The crowd slowly began quieting down as Cosmo brought a microphone up to his mouth.

"Are you all ready for our next contestant?" Cosmo asked the crowd.

The crowd began cheering loudly.

"Let's say hello to our next contestant, Spinferno!" Cosmo shouted as a monster rolled out onto the stage using the wheels on the bottom of its feet.

The monster spun around in a circle and raised his arms screaming as the crowd continued cheering. The crowd calmed down as Cosmo handed the microphone to Spinferno.

"I will not fail like Ripperat!" Spinferno shouted at the crowd. "I'm going to burn those Rangers to a crisp with my blazing speed!"

Cosmo snatched the microphone back from Spinferno as the crowd cheered once more for Spinferno.

"In a few Earth hours, Spinferno will be sent into the city and begin causing havoc!" Cosmo shouted to the crowd.

Spinferno left the stage as the crowd continued cheering for him.

Inside of the Ranger's Base, Mason was watching the others training with each other using practice swords. Logan swung his wooden sword at Jirou and missed as Jirou stepped aside. Jirou used his wooden sword and quickly swept Logan off his feet. Logan crashed to the ground and dropped his sword causing the others to stop what they were doing.

"Stay on your guard," Jirou said as he held his hand out to Logan.

Logan took Jirou's hand and was helped up off the ground.

"It's going to take a long time to get as good as you," Logan said to Jirou.

"You don't have to be as good as me," Jirou said as he chuckled. "You just need to be good enough to help take out Norio with the rest of us,"

"I guess you're right," Logan said as he sighed.

Jirou looked over at Mason and saw him standing by himself.

"Come on Mason, you haven't done anything today," Jirou said to Mason.

"Fine, let's see how long you'll last," Mason said as he took the wooden sword from Logan.

Jirou and Mason walked over to the center of the room as Jun and Beth continued training together nearby.

"Go easy on him Jirou," Logan said to Jirou as he sat down.

"He'll want me to go easy on him," Mason said as he prepared for Jirou to attack.

Jirou quickly approached Mason and swung his sword at Mason. Mason narrowly avoided the sword as his eyes widened in disbelief.

"It seems you're not fast enough," Mason said as he smirked.

Mason retaliated and swung his sword at Jirou. Jirou blocked Mason's sword with his sword and instantly knocked it out of Mason's hands.

"Stop acting like you're better than everyone else," Jirou said to Mason. "You need just as much training as Beth and Logan,"

Mason groaned in frustration and turned away from Jirou.

"You could be as good as me or even better one day if you actually tried," Jirou told Mason.

Jirou tossed his wooden sword to Logan.

"Jun, watch over those two and make sure they actually train this time," Jirou said as he headed towards the lab.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure they sweat bullets," Jun said as she blocked Beth's attack with her wooden sword.

Jirou walked into Hitoshi's lab and saw Hitoshi examining a Ninja Power Star. Hitoshi noticed Jirou walking towards him and sat the Power Star on the table.

"Hey, come check this out," Hitoshi said to Jirou.

"Is that a new Power Star or something?" Jirou asked Hitoshi.

"Yep, but so far only one has been made," Hitoshi told Jirou.

Jirou picked up the Power Star and looked closely at it.

"What does it do?" Jirou asked Hitoshi.

"It's the Element Power Star," Hitoshi told Jirou. "It has five different modes,"

"Fire, Water, Earth, Forest and Metal," Jirou said as he read the symbols while turning the Star.

"That's correct," Hitoshi said as he chuckled. "It will let any of you use powerful attacks depending on the element chosen,"

"Amazing!" Jirou said in amazement as he sat the Power Star back down.

"How are the others doing out there?" Hitoshi asked Jirou as he began working at his computer.

"They're learning, slowly," Jirou said as he sat down.

"At least they're learning," Hitoshi said as he sighed.

"I just hope they learn fast enough," Jirou said to Hitoshi.

"You want them to go slow," Hitoshi said to Jirou. "Go too fast, and they won't be used to new things,"

"I guess you're right," Jirou said as he leaned back in his seat.

In the training area, the other Rangers were cleaning up around the room after finishing their training for the day. Logan sat down next to Mason with a towel slung over his shoulder and patted on his back.

"You did pretty well today," Logan said to his friend.

"You're weren't too shabby yourself," Mason said as he chuckled.

"Hey guys, we better hurry and get home," Beth said to Logan and Mason as she picked up her bag.

"Yeah, it is a school night after all," Logan said as he rose to his feet.

"Be careful on your way home," Jun said to the others as they walked up the stairs one after another.

Jirou and Hitoshi walked out of the lab and saw Jun by herself in the dojo.

"Did they leave already?" Jirou asked Jun.

"It is a school night and almost ten o'clock," Hitoshi told Jirou.

"Oh, I forgot about that since I don't go to school with them," Jirou said as he chuckled.

"They're at least starting to get better," Jun told Jirou and her father.

"Hopefully they keep getting better then," Jirou said to Jun.

"You two go get ready for bed," Hitoshi said to Jirou and Jun. "I finish cleaning up the place,"

"Alright, see you tomorrow dad," Jun said as she headed upstairs.

"I'm looking forward to practicing with that Element Power Star," Jirou said to Hitoshi as he ran up the stairs.

"We'll see if you can handle it tomorrow," Hitoshi said as he picked up a wooden sword off the ground.

Hitoshi walked over to a rack on the wall and sat the sword on the rack with the rest of them.

"I still need to get more Element Power Star's made for each of them," Hitoshi said as he sighed.

Hitoshi walked back to his lab and closed the door behind him.

The next morning, Jirou walked downstairs and saw Jun leaving for school. Hitoshi came into the room and saw Jirou looking out the window. Hitoshi stepped behind the counter as Jirou noticed him.

"Is something bothering you?" Hitoshi asked Jirou.

"Why can't I go to school with them?" Jirou asked Hitoshi.

"Because you're from nearly five hundred years ago," Hitoshi said as he chuckled.

"I'm being serious," Jirou told Hitoshi. "I'm still the same age as the others in most people's eyes,"

"Well you would need to learn a lot more than what you've already learned since you showed up," Hitoshi informed Jirou.

Hitoshi stepped out from behind the counter with a piece of paper in his hand.

"Here," Hitoshi said as he handed the piece of paper to Jirou.

"What's this?" Jirou asked Hitoshi.

"It's a shopping list," Hitoshi said to Jirou. "We're running low on groceries,"

"You want me to go out there alone?" Jirou asked Hitoshi.

"If you can go get those groceries without causing a scene, I might try and find a way to get you in school," Hitoshi said to Jirou.

"For real?" Jirou asked Hitoshi.

"Absolutely," Hitoshi said as he nodded.

Hitoshi handed Jirou some money and watched as Jirou quickly ran out the door.

"Now to find a way to get him in," Hitoshi said as he sighed. "If I can,"

Out in the city, Jirou was walking down the street a few blocks away from the antique shop. Jirou looked down at the list of groceries Hitoshi gave him and slowly began reading it to himself.

"Peanut Butter, a loaf of bread and eggs," Jirou said as he stopped at a crosswalk as cars drove by.

Jirou sighed as he looked across the street.

"There's so much stuff on this list," Jirou said to himself as he began walking across the road.

As Jirou began to walk into the grocery store, a group of cop cars sped by blasting their sirens. Jirou turned around and saw the cars driving off down the road.

"I wonder what's going on," Jirou said as he took off running after the cop cars.

Jirou ran around a corner and saw a crowd of people blocked off by the cop cars and police officers.

"My wife is in there!" A man shouted at a police officer who was restraining him.

"Sir, all you can do is wait and hope she makes it out ok," The police officer said to the man.

Gun shots suddenly went off causing people in the crowd to begin screaming.

"We're not letting anyone go until you let us get out of here with the cash!" A masked man shouted from the entrance of a bank.

A news helicopter flew by overhead recording the area.

"They have hostages," Jirou said to himself as he put the grocery list in his pocket. "Someone has to save them,"

Jirou ran into a nearby alley and quickly began climbing up a fire escape ladder.

"I hope this doesn't get me in trouble," Jirou said as he reached the rooftop.

Jirou's morpher materialized in his hand along with his Power Star in the other. He placed his Power Star in his morpher and prepared to morph.

"Ninja Spin!" Jirou shouted as he spun the Power Star in his morpher.

The Power Star began glowing as it spun causing Jirou to begin glowing along with it. As Jirou took off running towards the next rooftop he transformed into the Red Ranger.

"I need to hurry!" Jirou said as he leapt to the next roof.

Jirou landed on the next roof and quickly continued towards the next one. The helicopter flew by above Jirou once again as Jirou leapt over to the bank's rooftop.

"Stay in the shadows for this one," Jirou said to himself as he looked down through the skylight on the roof.

Jirou struck the glass on the skylight causing it to completely shatter. People inside the bank on the ground floor began screaming in horror as glass rained down from above. The burglars looked up at the skylight and saw the sun shining down on them.

"What the hell was that?" One of the burglars said in confusion.

"Go check it out Quincy," A burglar guarding the hostages said back to his friend.

A small red ball hit the floor catching one of the burglar's attention.

"What's this?" The burglar wondered as he knelt down to pick the ball up.

As the burglar picked up the ball, red smoke began shooting out of the ball.

"Ugh, my eyes!" The burglar shouted as he dropped the ball and covered his eyes.

"Where's this smoke coming from?" Quincy asked the others as he looked down from the staircase.

Jirou dropped down through the skylight and landed on the ground floor.

"Don't let the hostages escape!" One of the burglars shouted as he walked blindly through the smoke.

Jirou jumped on the burglar from behind and slowly incapacitated the burglar as he wrapped his arms around the burglar's neck. Guns began firing wildly as a burglar backed up against a wall. The hostages began screaming once again as the burglar guarding them turned towards where the shots were coming from.

"Careful you're going to shoot one of the hostages or one of us!" The burglar shouted to his friend.

The burglar was suddenly pulled to the ground as something wrapped around his ankle and was pulled deeper into the smoke screaming in horror. Quincy ran back down the stairs as the smoke began clearing.

"You guys alright?" Quincy asked his allies as he aimed his pistol at the source of the smoke.

The smoke faded away and revealed the Red Ninja Steel Ranger standing in front of Quincy.

"Whoa!" Quincy shouted as he began to fire his gun.

Jirou grabbed Quincy's wrist causing Quincy to shoot straight up into the air.

"What are you?" Quincy asked Jirou.

"Someone who doesn't appreciate the things people like you do," Jirou said as he slung Quincy by the arm across the room.

Quincy looked over and saw all his allies lying on the ground unconscious.

"I'm not letting some freak in spandex ruin my day!" Quincy shouted as he pulled a knife out.

Quincy ran towards Jirou as Jirou's Ninja Star Blade appeared in his hand. As Quincy went to strike Jirou with his knife, Jirou struck the blade of the knife with his sword. The blade of the knife went flying across the room as the Ninja Star blade sliced it in half with ease.

"How is that possible?" Quincy said in confusion as he dropped the remains of the knife.

Quincy slowly dropped to his knees and put his hands behind his head. Jirou looked over at the hostages and saw a mother hugging her frightened son.

"You're all safe now," Jirou said to the people as he began walking away.

The police busted in through the front door and were shocked when they saw Quincy and his men restrained.

"Who did this?" An officer asked another beside him.

"A red Power Ranger," A woman said to the police officer.

"I guess those rumors were true then," An officer said as he adjusted his hat. "They are back,"

Up on the rooftop of the bank, Jirou watched as the police escorted the hostages to safety. Jirou then noticed Quincy and his men being placed in the back of a police van. Jirou demorphed and revealed a smirk on his face.

"Too easy," Jirou said as he walked away from the edge of the building.

As Jirou began making his way back to the building with the fire escape, he caught something out of the corner of his eye. Jirou turned his head and saw something leaping across the rooftops nearby.

"That's one of Norio's monsters," Jirou said to himself as he watched the flaming monster jump to the next roof.

Jirou took off running after the monster and leapt to the next rooftop in pursuit.

"You're not getting away," Jirou said to himself as he continued chasing after it.

Spinferno glanced over and saw Jirou leap across the gap between two buildings. Spinferno hit the brakes causing sparks to fly out from around his feet.

"Ah, what do we have here?" Spinferno asked Jirou as Jirou landed on the same rooftop.

"Someone that's about to send you back to where you came from," Jirou said as he pulled out his morpher.

"Haha, I had a feeling you were one of those brats Galvanax wants me to go after," Spinferno said to Jirou.

"Who's Galvanax?" Jirou said in confusion.

"I'm done talking," Spinferno told Jirou. "It's time for me to burn you alive!"

"We'll see whose flames are hotter," Jirou said as he placed his Power Star on his morpher.

Jirou instantly morphed and pulled out his Ninja Star Blade. As Jirou began running towards Spinferno, Spinferno released a powerful stream of flames from his gauntlets on his wrists.

"Whoa!" Jirou shouted as he narrowly leaned out of the way of the flames.

Spinferno quickly moved aside using the roller blades on his feet to dodge Jirou's sword.

"He's fast!" Jirou said in amazement.

"Looks like I'm not only too hot to handle for you, but also too quick," Spinferno said to Jirou as he snickered.

"I need to think before I attack," Jirou said as he looked around the rooftop. "Where will he move to next?"

Jirou pulled out his Element Star and quickly changed it to Metal Mode.

"Looks like I'm on the move again!" Spinferno shouted as he began moving away from Jirou again.

Jirou placed the Element Star in his Ninja Star Blade and spun it.

"Element Star!" Jirou shouted as his Ninja Star Blade began glowing. "Ninja Metal Attack!"

Jirou pointed the tip of his sword towards Spinferno as metal chains flew out of the tip of the blade.

"What kind of power is this?" Spinferno said in confusion as the chains wrapped around him from shoulder to toe.

"Now you aren't going anywhere!" Jirou shouted at Spinferno.

Spinferno began snickering as the chains wraed around him began glowing red.

"Impossible!" Jirou said in disbelief.

The chains restraining Spinferno shattered setting Spinferno free. Spinferno jumped back to his feet and began laughing evilly.

"Not even your silly technique could stop me!" Spinferno shouted at Jirou.

Spinferno's body began glowing once again as he started spinning in place.

"What're you doing?" Jirou said in confusion.

"I'm about to blow you away!" Spinferno shouted as a flaming cyclone surrounded him.

Jirou screamed in horror as the cyclone pulled him towards Spinferno.

"This ought to fry your brain!" Spinferno shouted as Jirou was caught in the cyclone.

Jirou was suddenly flung out of the cyclone and was sent over the edge of the building. Spinferno stopped spinning causing the cyclone to vanish.

"Yeah, he won't be coming back after that," Spinferno said as he laughed.

Down on the ground Jirou was lying in a dumpster struggling to crawl out. Jirou crawled out of the dumpster and demorphed as he hit the ground.

"I couldn't stop him!" Jirou said in pain as he slowly leaned up.

Over at the high school, Logan was sitting at a table in the lunchroom as Mason came up and sat down across the table from him. Mason looked over at Logan and saw him staring at his phone.

"Are you not going to eat?" Mason asked Logan.

"I'm better off not eating this stuff," Logan told Mason as he continued looking at his phone.

Logan sat his phone down on the table and pushed it towards Mason.

"What's this?" Mason asked Logan as he saw a video playing on the screen.

"A video from a person's phone," Logan told Mason. "It's from a bank robbery attempt earlier,"

Mason's eyes widened when he saw Jirou standing in the middle of the smoke taking out a burglar.

"Wait, he's out there doing this on his own?" Mason asked Logan.

"Apparently," Logan said as he took his phone back.

"And he said this was a team thing," Mason said in frustration.

"I know right?" Logan said to Mason as he put his phone away.

"Man, someone needs to give him a beating after this," Mason said as he slammed his fist down on the table.

A few hours later, a banged up Jirou walked inside of the antique shop carrying two paper bags full of groceries. Jirou slowly walked up to the counter and set the bags down. Jirou walked over to a chair and sat down as Hitoshi silently walked through a doorway.

"Where have you been?" Hitoshi asked Jirou.

"Grabbing groceries is harder than you think," Jirou said to Hitoshi.

"Oh I guess it is after you stop a bank robbery," Hitoshi said as he crossed his arms.

Jirou's eyes widened in horror as Hitoshi walked towards him.

"What on Earth is that smell?" Hitoshi said in disgust as he covered his nose.

Jirou sniffed his shirt and gagged as he caught the scent on him.

"I should go clean up," Jirou said as he slowly rose to his feet.

"No, not until we're done," Hitoshi said as he kept his nose covered.

"How did you know about the robbery?" Jirou asked Hitoshi.

Hitoshi pulled out his phone and showed a video to Jirou.

"Whoa, that's me!" Jirou said in amazement.

Hitoshi slapped Jirou on the back of the head.

"What was that for?" Jirou said in pain as he rubbed the back of his head.

"You might be a Power Ranger, but leave the robberies to the police," Hitoshi said to Jirou.

"But the police couldn't do anything," Jirou told Hitoshi.

Hitoshi noticed the bruises on Jirou's arms as Jirou continued talking.

"Did the robbers do that to you?" Hitoshi asked Jirou.

"No, it was one of Norio's goons," Jirou told Hitoshi. "I shouldn't have went after him on my own,"

"Odd, I never received a signal about one," Hitoshi said as he began thinking to himself.

"He was a fast one and strong too," Jirou told Hitoshi. "Not even the new Element Star you made could stop him,"

"Yeah, but maybe more than one could," Hitoshi said to Jirou.

"Am I in trouble?" Jirou asked Hitoshi.

"Just go get cleaned up and we'll finish talking about this later," Hitoshi said to Jirou as he pointed at the stairs.

As Jirou walked up the stairs, Hitoshi looked inside of the grocery bags.

"Why are there five different kinds of peanut butter in here?" Hitoshi asked himself as he pulled out the jars.

Out in the city, Spinferno was sitting on the edge of a rooftop looking down at the civilians below. A Buzzcam flew by and began pestering Spinferno causing him to begin swatting at it.

"Get out of here before I burn you to a crisp!" Spinferno shouted at the Buzzcam.

"Why're you just lying around?" Someone shouted from the Buzzcam.

Spinferno jumped to his feet in astonishment as he heard Galvanax's voice.

"Sir, I'm sorry for threatening you," Spinferno said to the Buzzcam.

"Why didn't you obtain the Red Ranger's Power Star when you defeated him earlier?" Galvanax asked Spinferno.

"I tried, but the brat was gone by the time I went down to get it," Spinferno told Galvanax.

"Then you better be quick next time or else," Galvanax said to Spinferno.

"Yes sir," Spinferno said as he watched the Buzzcam fly away.

Spinferno clinched his fist and caused his hand to become surrounded with flames.

"That punk won't escape next time I see him," Spinferno said as he snickered.

Back at the antique shop, Jirou was walking down the stairs when Jun walked in through the entrance with Mason, Logan and Beth behind her. Mason stormed towards Jirou and grabbed him by the shirt collar.

"Whoa, what's your problem?" Jirou asked Mason.

"You said we were in this as a team!" Mason shouted at Jirou. "And yet you go off on your own!"

"Hey, I wasn't going to ignore the situation!" Jirou said as he shoved Mason off of him.

"Mason settle down!" Jun said to Mason as she stepped in between him and Jirou.

"Tell me this Mason," Jirou said to Mason as he looked over Jun's head. "Would you have left those people in danger?"

"Of course not!" Mason shouted as Jun blocked him.

"That's all I wanted to hear," Jirou said as he walked over to a chair and sat down.

"Man, can you two just get along already?" Logan said to Jirou and Mason.

"I'm sure they'll change within time," Beth told Logan.

"We have bigger things to worry about right now anyway," Jirou said to the others.

"What're you talking about?" Jun asked Jirou.

"After I left the bank, I bumped into one of Norio's new friends," Jirou said to his friends.

"So you took that thing on without us too?" Mason asked Jirou.

"Yeah and I regret doing that," Jirou said to Mason. "I couldn't handle it on my own,"

"Whoa, a monster that's even too strong for you!" Logan said in amazement. "That's crazy!"

"How do we stop this guy?" Beth asked Jirou.

"We work together," Jirou said as he rose to his feet.

"Then let's go find this freak and get it over with," Mason said as he walked out the door.

"Let's get going and make sure Mason doesn't get himself in trouble again," Beth said to the others.

Jirou and the others ran out the door after Mason and to go after Spinferno together.

Out in the city, Spinferno was speeding down the road leaving flaming trails behind him. Cars were blowing their horns at Spinferno as he quickly rolled past them. As Spinferno came up to a corner, he quickly turned and saw Jirou up ahead already morphed.

"Well, look whose back for round two!" Spinferno shouted at Jirou.

"I'm not losing this time," Jirou said as he pulled out his Ninja Star Blade.

"Let's see whose flaming spirit will last then!" Spinferno shouted as he began speeding towards Jirou.

Spinferno rammed into Jirou causing a cloud of smoke to erupt instantly. Spinferno crashed into a car on the side of the street and fell to the ground.

"What was that?" Spinferno said in confusion as he rose back up.

Spinferno looked over as the smoke began fading away and saw the five Rangers turned away from him.

"Great you brought back up this time," Spinferno said as he groaned in annoyance.

"Speed of the ninja!" Jun shouted as she turned around. "Ninja Steel Pink!

"Stealth of the ninja!" Mason shouted as he slowly turned towards Spinferno. "Ninja Steel Blue!"

"Spirit of the ninja!" Beth shouted as she spun around. "Ninja Steel White!"

"Strength of the ninja!" Logan shouted as he quickly jumped and faced Spinferno. "Ninja Steel Yellow!"

"Power of the ninja!" Jirou shouted as he turned around with his Ninja Star Blade in hand. "Ninja Steel Red!"

"Power Rangers Ninja Steel!" The Rangers shouted as they each readied for battle.

The Rangers began running towards Spinferno and jumped into the air instantly vanishing.

"Where did they go?" Spinferno said in confusion.

"Out of the shadows!" Jirou shouted as he and the other Rangers began striking Spinferno at blinding speed with their swords.

Spinferno rolled away from the Rangers as they regrouped and quickly jumped back to his feet.

"I need some assistance here!" Spinferno shouted as Kudabots began appearing around him.

"Use your new Element Stars to get rid of those Kudabots," Jirou told the others as he pulled out his Element Star.

"Element Star!" Mason shouted as he switched his Element Star to water mode and placed it on his Ninja Star Blade. "Ninja Water Attack!"

Mason pointed the tip of his sword at the Kudabots and released a blast of water quickly knocking a chunk of the Kudabots away.

"Element Star!" Logan shouted as he switched his Element Star to earth mode and placed it on his sword. "Ninja Earth Attack!"

Logan stabbed his sword into the ground causing the road to begin cracking towards the Kudabots. Chunks of the road began shooting up and striking the Kudabots easily destroying them.

"Ninja Metal Attack!" Jun shouted as chains came from the tip of her sword and wrapped around one of the Kudabots.

"Ninja Wood Attack!" Beth shouted as vines from the tip of her sword wrapped around another Kudabot.

Beth and Jun slung the two Kudabots and crashed them into the last of the Kudabots easily destroying them.

"No!" Spinferno shouted as the remains of the Kudabots disappeared around him.

Jirou placed his Element Star on his sword and took off running towards Spinferno.

"Catch me if you can!" Spinferno shouted as he took off rolling away from Jirou.

"We'll make sure he doesn't escape!" Logan shouted as he and the others dashed by Jirou quickly.

Spinferno continued rolling down the street trying to escape from the Rangers.

"They'll never catch me," Spinferno said as he snickered.

Suddenly, vines and chains wrapped around Spinferno's ankles causing him to trip.

"No!" Spinferno shouted as he fell to the ground.

Spinferno looked behind him and saw the vines and chains coming from Jun and Beth's swords.

"I've broken out of these things before!" Spinferno shouted as he began glowing.

Water began hitting Spinferno causing the glow to fade.

"You're not melting out of these chains," Mason said to Spinferno as he blasted Spinferno with the water from his sword.

"Do it now!" Jun shouted to Beth as she pulled her sword up.

"Right!" Beth shouted as she pulled hers upward causing Spinferno to fly into the air.

"Ninja Fire Attack!" Jirou shouted as he leapt towards Spinferno.

Jirou's sword became engulfed in flames as he readied to attack.

"Looks like I'm burnt out!" Spinferno shouted as Jirou struck him.

As Jirou landed next to the others, Spinferno exploded in midair.

On stage aboard his ship, Cosmo was being booed at by the monsters in the crowd watching Spinferno be defeated. Cosmo nervously gulped as he turned towards his console.

"Looks like no one wants to see Spinferno get another shot," Cosmo said as he pressed a button on the console. "So we'll just send down a Skullgator!"

The crowd quickly began cheering as a Skullgator landed in the middle of the city and began causing destruction.

Down in the city the Rangers saw the Skullgator attacking buildings in the distance with its pickaxe-like weapon. Jirou pulled out his Zord Star and looked down at it.

"I hope our zords can handle that thing," Jirou said to the others.

"Yeah," Beth said as she nodded in agreement.

Jirou placed his Zord Star on his Ninja Star Blade as the others did the same behind him.

"Out of the shadows!" The Rangers shouted as they spun the Power Stars.

The Skullgator turned around and saw each of the five Rangers zords approaching it. The Skullgator let out a loud roar causing Jirou to cover his ears as he sat on his zord's shoulder.

"We need to shut that thing up!" Jirou shouted as the Robo Red Zord took off running towards the Skullgator.

The Skullgator swung its pickaxe at the Robo Red Zord and barely missed as the Robo Red Zord rolled passed the monster.

"Have a taste of this!" Mason shouted as the Dragon Zord flew by spewing flames on the Skullgator.

The Skullgator swatted at the Dragon Zord causing the zord to flee.

"That was too close," Mason said as he sat on the head of the Dragon Zord.

The Nitro Zord began speeding towards the Skullgator as the Robo Red Zord began distracting it.

"Coming right at you!" Logan shouted as he was launched off the back of the Nitro Zord.

The Skullgator turned towards Logan and was stabbed in the snout by Logan with his Ninja Star Blade. The Skullgator roared in pain as it swatted at Logan causing Logan to jump off.

"Nice going Logan!" Jirou shouted at Logan as he noticed the cracks on the Skullgator's snout.

As the Robo Red Zord jumped away from the Skullgator, Jirou noticed his Zord Star glowing.

"What's going on here?" Jirou said in confusion.

"Mine's doing it too!" Logan said as he saw his Zord Star glowing.

"All of them are!" Beth said to Jirou and Logan.

"Then let's see what this is all about!" Mason shouted as he spun his Zord Star on his sword.

The other Rangers spun the stars on their swords causing the zords to begin glowing. The Nitro Zord drove over towards the Zoom Zord and quickly combined with it and the Kodiak Zord. As the three zords rose up another part of the Nitro Zord attached on the right side of the Nitro Zord forming an arm as the Dragon Zord attached on the left side. The Robo Red Zord leapt into the air and sat down in the open compartment of the Nitro Zord followed by a large version of Jirou's Zord Star attached on top of the zords forming a head.

"Whoa!" Jirou shouted as he and the others randomly appeared in a room with silver walls with red accents in the background.

"What is this place?" Mason said in confusion.

"It looks like some kind of cockpit," Logan said as he walked up to a console near him.

Logan stepped up on the platform the console was connected to causing the Megazord to begin moving towards the Skullgator.

"What did you do?" Jun asked Logan as she fell to the ground.

"I just stepped on this platform!" Logan said as the room shook.

Jirou turned around and saw the Skullgator outside through a window.

"You're making us go right towards that thing!" Mason shouted at Logan.

Jirou stepped on his platform with his Ninja Star Blade in hand.

"Everyone get on your platform!" Jirou shouted to the others.

The other Rangers quickly got on their platforms causing the Megazord to come to a halt.

"I think our zords combined!" Beth said to the others.

"Then it needs all of us to control it," Jirou said as the Skullgator began running towards the Megazord.

The Skullgator went to strike the Megazord but its weapon was blocked by the Dragon Shield.

"Nice going Mason!" Logan said to Mason.

"Let's see what this sword can do," Jirou said as the Megazord struck the Skullgator with its sword.

The Skullgator backed off roaring in pain.

"We need to hit the thing where it hurts," Jun said to Jirou.

"Then we'll strike it where Logan already hurt it earlier," Jirou said as the Megazord's sword began glowing.

"Master Slash!" The Rangers shouted as they swung their Ninja Star Blades.

The Megazord struck the Skullgator with the Megazord's sword in the snout causing major damage to the monster. The monster then fell to the ground and exploded as the sun was setting in the background.

"This is going to take some getting used to," Jirou said as he leaned on the console next to him.

"Now we have a Ninja Steel Megazord!" Logan shouted in excitement.

"Where did you come up with that?" Mason asked Logan.

"Well, our five zords combined into one big one," Logan told Mason.

"I've heard enough," Mason said as he ignored Logan.

The Rangers returned to their base beneath the antique shop screaming in celebration. Hitoshi turned towards the Rangers in his computer chair and saw them all smiling. Hitoshi sighed and rose to his feet.

"Nice work out there," Hitoshi said to the Rangers.

"I'm just glad I had help out there this time," Jirou said to Hitoshi. "I'll make sure not to make that mistake ever again,"

"There will be times where you'll be on your own though," Hitoshi told Jirou.

"That's not going to happen," Jirou told Hitoshi. "We're a team,"

"Jirou's right, we'll go out there together no matter what," Jun said to her father.

"I won't let him go out by himself ever again," Mason said as he crossed his arms.

Hitoshi began smirking as he walked up to Jirou.

"Then I guess it's a good time to tell you all that you'll be spending even more time with each other," Hitoshi said to the Rangers.

"Why's that?" Beth asked Hitoshi.

"Because Jirou has been enrolled to Dorado Bay High School," Hitoshi said to the Rangers as he patted on Jirou's head.

"Are you serious?" Logan said in disbelief.

"Do you even know enough to be in high school?" Jun asked Jirou.

"Only one way to find out," Jirou said as he smiled.

"I'm sure he'll do fine, especially with us beside him," Beth said to the others.

"Well, he will need someone to keep the jerks away," Mason said to everyone.

"Mason, was that you telling Jirou you'll help him in school?" Beth asked Mason.

"Of course not," Mason said as he looked away.

"Maybe you can show me around the school too!" Jirou said to Mason as he chuckled.

"Not happening," Mason said as he began walking away.

"Oh come on!" Jirou shouted at Mason as he followed him out of the room while the others laughed.


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Mason the Magnificent

At the High School, Logan and Jirou were standing at their lockers watching other students hang up a banner on the wall. Mason walked up and noticed the banner hanging on the wall. Mason's eyes then widened when he noticed something on the banner.

"No, he's not!" Mason said in frustration.

"Is something wrong?" Logan asked Mason.

"My father is going to be at the fall festival!" Mason told Logan.

"What's wrong with that?" Jirou asked Mason as he closed his locker.

"My dad is insane," Mason told Jirou.

"I think he's pretty cool," Logan said as he chuckled.

"You're only saying that because you're a dork just like him," Mason said to Logan.

"No, I'm saying that because he's a great magician," Logan said as he crossed his arms.

"Ah, so he's one of those guys who uses fake magic," Jirou said to Logan and Mason.

"Fake magic?" Logan said in confusion.

"What?" Jirou said to Logan.

"Jirou, there's no such thing as real magic," Mason said as he sighed.

"You should've seen what I saw four hundred years ago then," Jirou said as he walked away.

"Okay then?" Logan said in confusion.

"I need to talk to my father when I get home later," Mason said as he began walking away.

"Come on Mason!" Logan said in annoyance. "Just let it go!"

"No, he's not going to make me a laughing stock!" Mason shouted back at Logan as he walked away.

Later that day as school got out, Mason hurried off the school grounds and headed towards his house. Logan and Jirou walked outside the school and didn't see Mason anywhere around them.

"Man, he really took off quick," Logan said to Jirou.

"I guess let's head to the shop and wait on Mason there," Jirou said as he began walking down the steps.

"Shouldn't we wait on the girls?" Logan asked Jirou as he followed him.

"They'll be at the shop soon," Jirou said as he and Logan walked down the street.

"Well, I hope Mason can settle things with his dad at least," Logan said as he walked alongside Jirou.

Mason stormed up to a gate and pushed it open. Mason began following the path and came up to a large house. As Mason walked up to the front door, the door slowly came open on its own.

"Knock it off with the pranks!" Mason shouted as he walked inside.

A cloud of smoke instantly appeared behind Mason causing Mason to quickly turn around. A man walked out of the smoke and placed his hand on Mason's shoulder.

"So I assume you saw the news at school?" The man asked Mason.

"Oh yeah, I did dad," Mason said as he pushed his father's hand off his shoulder.

"It's going to be glorious!" Mason's father said as he smiled.

"No it's not, because you're not going to be there," Mason told his father.

"Says who?" Mason's father asked his son.

"Says me," Mason said as he walked up to his father and stared him in the eyes.

"You really think me doing this will hurt your reputation at the school?" Mason's father asked him.

"Yes dad, I do," Mason told his father. "You'll turn me into the guy with a magic dad,"

"Look son, this is my job," Mason's father said as he sat down in a chair nearby. "I need to make money for us,"

"No one cares about your fake magic," Mason said as he turned away.

"Magic isn't fake," Mason's father said to Mason.

"All you do is mind trick people!" Mason shouted at his father. "You hide things in your sleeves, that's it!"

Mason headed over towards the stairs and placed his hand on the railing.

"This is why mom left," Mason said to his father. "She was right when she said you cared more about your stupid hobby than your family,"

Mason ran up the stairs and left his father in silence. Mason's father sighed as he rose to his feet and walked off into another room.

Mason slammed his bedroom door behind him and walked over to his dresser and looked at himself in the mirror. Mason groaned in frustration and turned away from the mirror. As Mason sat down on his bed he heard someone knock on his door.

"Come in," Mason said as he slowly began calming down.

An old man in a black suit walked into the room and saw Mason sitting on his bed with a red face.

"What is it Ron?" Mason asked the old man.

"I see you and your father had another argument again," Ron said as he closed the door behind him.

"He doesn't care about anyone but himself and his stupid magic shows," Mason told Ron.

"Yes he can be quite annoying when he does that," Ron said as he sat down in a chair.

"How did grandpa react to this?" Mason asked Ron.

"Well he didn't care at all," Ron told Mason. "He just let Gregory be what he wanted to be,"

"Nothing ticked me off more than when dad used to tell me I would be like him," Mason said to Ron.

"Yes that was quite stupid of him," Ron said as he nodded. "He can't choose your future,"

"I just wish he would stop treating his magic shows like his favorite child," Mason said to Ron.

"Then maybe it's time to show him who his child really is," Ron said to Mason as he rose to his feet.

"What do you mean?" Mason asked Ron.

"Try talking to him, just without the arguing," Ron said as he opened the door.

"Thanks Ron," Mason said to Ron as Ron left the room.

Mason looked at himself in the mirror and sighed.

The next day at the school, many tents were being set up on the football field for the fall festival. In one of the end zones a stage was placed where the magic show would happen. Four of the Rangers were standing outside watching the people continue setting up the festivities while waiting on Mason to arrive at school.

"This year's festival is going to be amazing!" Beth said in excitement.

"Not to Mason," Logan said as he chuckled.

"He'll get over it in due time," Jirou said as he leaned on the fence.

"I really don't see the problem with his father being a magician," Jun said to the others.

"It's because his dad cares more about his job than he does Mason," Logan told Jun.

"Is that true?" Jun asked Logan in disbelief.

"Yeah, it even caused Mason's mom to move out," Logan said to Jun.

"That's awful!" Beth said in concern.

Mason suddenly walked up and caught the others' attention.

"Has my dad shown up yet?" Mason asked the others.

"No, I haven't seen him," Logan said to Mason.

"He wasn't at home when I left this morning," Mason told his friends. "I assumed he was already here,"

"He's probably around here somewhere," Jun said to Mason as the bell began ringing.

"Well we better get to class before we're late," Jirou said to the others as he walked away.

"Yeah, Ms. Kay would flip if we were late," Beth said to the others as they headed inside the school.

Out in the parking lot near a trailer to a truck, Greg was helping the men carry boxes off the truck. While the men were on the truck, a monster that looked like a kappa with fire extinguishers on its back suddenly appeared along with a group of Kudabots.

"Alright boys, let's get our boy Cosmo some views!" The monster shouted as Greg stepped off the trailer.

"What on Earth?" Greg said in confusion as he saw the monsters.

"Here's our first one to go slow-mo!" The monster shouted as he sprayed a mist at Greg.

Greg dropped the box he was holding to shield himself and was hit by the mist. Greg slowly opened his eyes and saw that he was moving very slowly.

"What happened to me?" Greg slowly said to himself as he continued moving very slowly.

"You've been sprayed by my magical mist," The monster said to Greg. "It slows down anything hit by it,"

The monster quickly ran off along with the Kudabots and left Greg by the trailer moving very slowly.

Inside the school, Mason was impatiently staring out a window as his teacher, Ms. Kay, came walking by. Ms. Kay placed a sheet of paper on Mason's desk and continued on past him.

"I know some of you are excited for the festival," Ms. Kay said to the students. "However, you can wait and finish this history test first,"

Ms. Kay placed a sheet of paper on Jirou's desk.

"Hopefully you studied Mr. Takayama," Ms. Kay said to Jirou. "I don't give new students a second chance,"

"What's her problem?" Jirou whispered to Logan next to him.

"She's always like this on test days," Logan whispered to Jirou.

"Good luck and you may begin," Ms. Kay said as she walked back to her desk.

Mason sighed and looked down at his test.

"This isn't going to be fun," Mason said to himself as he began working on his test.

A few hours later, the festival was completely set up and ready to go. People were standing in line at the tents to play the games. Other people were gathering up in front of the stage waiting for the magic show to begin. Mason walked up to the stage and saw no sign of his father.

"What's going on?" Mason wondered as he walked away from the stage.

Mason walked up to the others who were playing games at a tent and joined them.

"My dad is missing," Mason said to the others.

"Are you sure?" Jirou asked Mason as he threw a dart at a balloon on the wall.

The dart popped the balloon as Jirou turned towards Mason.

"I haven't seen him at all," Beth told Mason.

"Maybe he's still at his truck," Mason said to his friends as people began booing.

"What's happening now?" Jun said in confusion.

Mason looked over towards the stage and saw people booing at Ms. Kay on the stage.

"You guys go check the truck," Mason said to the others.

"What're you going to do?" Jirou asked Mason.

"I've got to help with something else real quick," Mason said as he walked away.

"Alright guys, let's get to the parking lot," Jirou said to the others as they ran off towards the parking lot.

Mason ran up onto the stage and walked over to Ms. Kay.

"Let me handle this," Mason whispered to Ms. Kay.

"Are you sure you can handle it?" Ms. Kay asked Mason.

"Until my father shows up, I hope so," Mason told Ms. Kay.

Mason walked behind the curtain and saw his father's hat and wand lying on a table.

"What the heck am I doing?" Mason asked himself as he grabbed the hat and wand.

"We want some magic!" A male student shouted from the crowd as the crowd began booing again.

The curtains suddenly came open and revealed Mason wearing his father's hat.

"Is that Mason?" A girl asked her friend in the crowd.

"Why is he on the stage?" A male student wondered.

"He looks like a dork!" Another male student shouted causing people in the crowd to begin laughing.

Mason looked down in frustration and began grasping the wand harder.

"I knew it," Mason said to himself. "They're making fun of me,"

Mason looked out at the crowd laughing at him and screamed in anger as he pointed the wand above the crowd. The wand suddenly began glowing and released a large dragon glowing blue that roared at the crowd loudly. The crowd went silent as the dragon disappeared. Mason's eyes widened as he dropped the wand.

"What just happened?" Mason said in confusion.

The crowd suddenly began cheering loudly for Mason as Mason stood motionless on the stage.

"What did I do?" Mason asked himself as he looked down at his hands.

"We want more!" The crowd began shouting continuously.

"They actually liked it," Mason said as he began smiling.

Mason knelt down and picked up the wand off the ground.

"Alright, let's get to the next trick!" Mason shouted to the crowd as he raised his arms into the air.

Jirou and the others quickly ran out into the parking lot and saw Kudabots toss Mason's dad into the back of his truck. As Jirou began running towards the truck, Slogre jumped out in front of him and startled him.

"If it isn't the power pukes!" Slogre shouted as he chuckled.

"Leave that man out of this," Jirou said to Slogre.

"Don't worry, he's the least of my worries now that you've shown up," Slogre told Jirou.

"Lock in guys," Jirou said as he placed his Power Star on his morpher.

The other Rangers locked their Power Stars in on their morphers stepped forward next to Jirou.

"Ninja Spin!" The Rangers shouted as they spun their Power Stars and activated their morphers.

The Rangers quickly morphed and ran towards Slogre.

"Kudabots!" Slogre shouted as he shot up into the air using the hoses from the tanks on his back.

Slogre landed on top of the truck as the Rangers began battling the Kudabots.

"Logan, get that truck open!" Jirou shouted at Logan as he struck a Kudabot with his sword.

"On it!" Logan shouted as he ran towards the truck.

Logan struck the latch on the truck causing the door to fly open.

"Help!" Gregory shouted very slowly as Logan climbed into the back.

"Whoa, he's moving in slow motion for some reason," Logan said as he approached Mason's father.

"Here, you give it a try!" Slogre shouted as he jumped into the back of the truck.

"Huh?" Logan said in confusion as he turned around and was blasted by the mist from Slogre.

"Logan!" Jun shouted as she watched Slogre jump out of the truck.

"Your friend won't be helping anymore," Slogre said as he snickered.

"I'll handle the turtle," Beth said as she struck a Kudabot out of the way and began running towards Slogre.

"Stop, you don't know what he's capable of!" Jirou shouted at Beth as he jumped on top of a car to get away from the Kudabots.

Beth swung her sword at Slogre and missed as Slogre flew into the air.

"Take it slow White Ranger!" Slogre shouted as he fired a stream a mist down at Beth.

The mist hit Beth causing her to begin moving slowly before Jun and Jirou.

"Watch out for that mist," Jirou said to Jun as he struck a Kudabot near her with his Battle Morpher in Bow Mode.

"I know!" Jun shouted as she pulled out her Ninja Blaster and shot multiple Kudabots far away from her.

"You're next pink!" Slogre shouted at Jun as he landed behind her.

Jun gasped as she quickly rolled away from Slogre.

"Sorry, slow and steady isn't my style," Jun said as she placed her Element Star on her sword.

Jun stabbed her sword into the ground causing rocks to shoot out of the ground in front of her. Jun began striking the rocks and sent them flying towards Slogre. The rocks hit Slogre one after another and barley fazed him as he continued making his way towards Jun.

"It didn't do anything!" Jun said in disbelief.

Slogre shot a blast of mist at Jun and missed as Jun jumped back away from Slogre.

"Oh, you're going to be a pain!" Slogre said in frustration as he began running towards Jun.

Slogre fired mist from the hoses of the tanks on his back causing him to speed towards Jun. Jirou struck down the last Kudabot with his Battle Morpher in Claw Mode and saw Slogre heading straight at Jun.

"Stop him!" Beth shouted very slowly.

Jun sidestepped causing Slogre to speed past her. After Slogre crashed into the side of a car, Jun noticed the mist from Slogre's tanks landed on her.

"No!" Jirou said as Jun began moving slowly.

"Oh no!" Jun said very slowly as Slogre rose back to his feet.

"Looks like you're all that's left red," Slogre said to Jirou as he turned towards him.

"This is too risky on my own," Jirou said to himself as he placed his Element Star on his sword.

Jirou's sword began glowing as he swung his sword while Slogre was still not near him.

"What was that?" Slogre said in confusion.

A pan suddenly fell from the sky and hit Slogre on the head causing Slogre to grab his head in pain.

"What kind of technique was that?" Slogre said in pain as he grasped his head.

Slogre looked over and saw that Jirou was gone.

"That stupid ninja tricked me!" Slogre shouted in frustration.

Slogre then looked over towards the others and saw them slowly making their way towards him.

"At least I still got you three," Slogre said to the Rangers.

Back at the festival, Mason was still performing in front of a crowd. Jirou ran towards the stage with Slogre chasing after him from above. Mason noticed Slogre flying in the air and quickly pulled out his wand.

"Looks like this will be my final trick," Mason said to the crowd as the wand began glowing.

Mason aimed the wand at Slogre in the air and sent another glowing blue dragon flying out of his wand.

"What is that?" Slogre said in confusion as he saw the dragon flying towards him.

Slogre dodged the dragon and crashed down onto a tent. The crowd began cheering as Jirou ran behind the stage.

"That's all for today!" Mason shouted as he bowed to the crowd while backing towards the curtains.

Mason walked through the curtains and saw Jirou breathing heavily.

"What's going on?" Mason asked Jirou.

"That monster got the others," Jirou told Mason. "He has some kind of power that slows down his targets,"

"That's not good," Mason said in concern.

"He's also the reason why your dad's been missing," Jirou told Mason.

"Is he at least okay?" Mason asked Jirou.

"He didn't seem to be hurt at all," Jirou said to Mason. "Just slow from that guy's mist,"

People on the other side of the curtain began screaming. Jirou looked through the curtain and saw Slogre emerge from the destroyed tent.

"I know you're hiding back there Red Ranger!" Slogre shouted as he walked towards the stage.

"Looks like it's time for my second act," Mason said as he pulled out his morpher and Power Star.

"Let's save the others and your father," Jirou said to Mason.

"Ninja Spin!" Mason shouted as he quickly spun his Power Star on his morpher and morphed.

"Your magic tricks won't save you this time!" Slogre shouted as the curtain slowly began opening.

On the other side of the curtain, Jirou and Mason were standing side by side ready for action.

"Ah, so you ran off to go find the Blue Ranger," Slogre said to Jirou.

"You're going to pay for what you did to my father and our friends," Mason said to Slogre as his Ninja Star Blade appeared in his right hand.

"That's only if you can fight through my mist," Slogre said to Mason as he chuckled.

"You distract him," Jirou said to Mason. "I think I know where the mist comes from,"

"Alright, good luck," Mason said to Jirou.

Mason leapt off the stage and quickly began running towards Slogre.

"You're such an imbecile!" Slogre shouted as he fired a blast of mist towards Mason.

Mason quickly jumped over the mist cloud and kicked Slogre causing him to crash onto a table behind him.

"That was a lucky shot," Slogre said as he rose back to his feet.

"There's more to come," Mason said as he began running towards Slogre.

Slogre stomped his right foot on the ground and prepared for Mason to attack. Mason ran up to Slogre and kicked him once again. Slogre began laughing as Mason just fell to the ground.

"It's like I hit a brick wall!" Mason said in astonishment.

Slogre struck Mason in the chest with a palm strike and sent Mason crashing into nearby tent. Mason rose back to his feet as Slogre began laughing at him.

"I'm not holding back this time," Mason said as he stepped out of the destroyed tent.

Mason placed his Element Star on his sword and quickly activated it.

"Ninja Element Star, Water Mode!" Mason shouted as his sword began glowing.

"You need to slow down!" Slogre shouted as he fired a blast of mist at Mason.

Mason spun his sword around in a circle and created a water shield in front of him that began blocking the mist.

"What's this?" Slogre said in confusion as Mason blocked the mist.

"Now's my chance!" Jirou shouted as he leapt of the top of a tent.

Jirou looked down at Slogre's back and saw the two tanks.

"Ninja Stars!" Jirou shouted as he threw two red ninja stars at Slogre.

The ninja stars struck Slogre's tanks on his back causing them to explode.

"My tanks!" Slogre shouted as a cloud of mist surrounded him.

Jirou landed next to Mason and watched as the mist cloud began fading.

"Damn you!" Slogre shouted slowly as he moved very slowly.

"Let's end him!" Jirou said as he pulled out his Ninja Star Blade.

Mason and Jirou placed their Power Stars on their swords and spun the stars.

"Red and Blue Steel Slash!" Jirou and Mason shouted as they began moving around Slogre at intense speed striking him repeatedly with their Ninja Star Blades.

Jirou and Mason instantly landed safely in front of Slogre as Slogre slowly fell to the ground and exploded.

"Show's over," Mason said as he twirled his sword around.

Over in the parking lot, the other Rangers returned to normal now being able to move normally. Mason's father walked out of the back of the truck trailer and saw the Rangers standing outside.

"Are you alright sir?" Logan asked Greg.

"Yeah, thanks to you guys," Greg said as he nodded.

"Then get somewhere safe," Jun said to Greg. "It's about to get worse,"

The Rangers ran off towards the festival and left Greg in the parking lot.

"My show!" Greg shouted in horror.

Inside of Cosmo's ship the crowd was roaring loudly as Cosmo stepped out onto the stage chuckling to himself. Cosmo grabbed a microphone and spun around in a circle as the Kudabots brought out the console.

"It already sounds like you want Slogre to have another go at the Rangers!" Cosmo shouted as the crowd continued cheering.

Cosmo walked over to the console and prepared to hit the button.

"Let me hear you one more time!" Cosmo shouted to the crowd. "Does Slogre deserve one more shot?"

The crowd cheered even louder causing Cosmo to begin laughing.

"Then he shall gigantify!" Cosmo shouted as he slammed his hand down on one of the buttons.

Out on the football field, Logan, Beth and Jun ran up to Mason and Jirou and saw that Slogre was gone.

"You guys actually beat him!" Logan said in amazement.

"It's not over yet," Mason said to Logan as he saw something coming down from the sky.

A large blast struck the ground where Slogre was destroyed causing the Rangers to jump away.

"Get ready to summon the zords," Jirou said to the others as Slogre's body began reforming.

Slogre instantly grew and towered over the school and the Rangers.

"Catch me if you can power pests!" Slogre shouted as he blasted off using his tanks.

"He's heading towards the city!" Beth said to the others.

"We won't be able to catch him in the zords," Jun said to everyone.

"No, but I can," Mason said as he pulled out his Zord Star.

"You can't handle him with just the Dragon Zord," Jirou told Mason.

"Then let's try something else," Mason said to Jirou as he nodded.

"What do you mean?" Logan asked Mason.

"I'm sure our Megazord has a few tricks up its sleeves," Mason said to the other Rangers as he placed his Zord Star on his Ninja Star Blade.

"I hope you're right," Jirou said as he placed his Zord Star on his sword.

The other Rangers quickly placed their Zord Stars on their swords.

"Summon Zords!" The Rangers shouted as they spun the Power Stars. "Out of the Shadows!"

The Ranger's zords instantly appeared before them and quickly took off towards the city as each Ranger boarded their zord.

"Alright, what's your plan Mason?" Jirou asked Mason as the Robo Red Zord ran down the street with Jirou on its shoulder.

"Well, it's not really a plan," Mason told Jirou as the Dragon Zord flew by the Robo Red Zord overhead. "It's more of an assumption,"

Slogre landed on the ground in the city and began striking buildings around him with palm strikes.

"I will make sure this city turns to rubble!" Slogre shouted as he spun around and struck another building.

"Found him!" Beth shouted as her Kodiak Zord leapt at Slogre and struck him with the kunai in its mouth.

"You stupid dog!" Slogre shouted as he swung at the Kodiak Zord.

The Kodiak Zord jumped away and landed back in one of the Zoom Zord's compartments.

"Let me take over this time," Mason said to Jirou as he rode by on his Dragon Zord.

"Alright, hopefully this works," Jirou said as the Robo Red Zord came riding up in the back of the Nitro Zord.

"Let's bring them together!" Mason shouted as he spun the Zord Star on his sword.

Each of the Ranger's zords began glowing. The Nitro Zord quickly combined with the Zoom Zord and Kodiak Zord forming the upper and lower body of the Megazord.

"Take over the left arm!" Mason shouted at Jirou.

"On it!" Jirou said as the Robo Red Zord transformed into an arm and connected to the Megazord.

"Dragon Zord coming in!" Mason shouted as the tail and wings detached from the Dragon Zord.

The Dragon Zord backed into the open compartment on the Megazord's upper body as the wings and tail attached on the back. A large Dragon Zord Power Star attached onto the head of the Dragon Zord and transformed into a larger head. The Rangers suddenly appeared in the cockpit with Mason standing in the middle.

"Ninja Steel Megazord, Dragon Formation!" Mason shouted as the Megazord roared loudly.

"The Megazord did have another mode!" Logan said in amazement.

"I don't care how many looks your walking pile of trash has!" Slogre shouted at the Rangers. "You still can't catch me!"

Slogre blasted off into the air.

"Now what do we do?" Beth asked the others.

"Go after him," Mason said as the Megazord flew off into the air after Slogre.

"Incredible!" Jirou said in disbelief as the Megazord went after Slogre.

Slogre looked over his shoulder and saw the Megazord catching up to him.

"Looks like I need to speed up!" Slogre said as he chuckled. "Or they need to slow down,"

Slogre turned towards the Megazord and blasted a cloud of mist towards them.

"That's not working this time!" Mason shouted as the Megazord flapped its wings and blew the mist away.

"Impossible!" Slogre shouted as the Megzord continued flying towards him.

"Dragon Tail Whip!" Mason shouted as the Megazord slammed its tail against Slogre.

Slogre crashed to the ground outside of the city in a grassy terrain. The Megazord then landed down near Slogre.

"This isn't looking good for me," Slogre said to himself.

"Now for the grand finale!" Mason shouted as the Megazord's mouth began glowing.

"Dragon Lightning!" The Rangers shouted as the Megazord fired a powerful blast into the ground.

The ground began cracking in front of the Megazord and quickly moved towards Slogre. As the crack reached Slogre, a blast of lightning erupted from the ground incinerating Slogre in an instant.

"And just like that, show's over," Mason said as the others cheered next to him.

A few minutes later the Rangers returned to the festival and were helping clean up the mess caused by Slogre. Jirou placed a handful of garbage into a garbage can and noticed Mason's father walking towards him and the others.

"Hey Mason," Jirou said to Mason.

Mason looked over and saw his father walking towards him.

"I heard what you did," Greg said to Mason.

"Someone had to do something," Mason said as he continued cleaning.

"I just didn't think you would do it since you moved away from doing magic as you grew up," Greg told Mason.

"Look dad, I might not want to be a full blown magician like you, but I still know the things you taught me," Mason told his father.

"Well, if you ever want to help me, you're welcome to," Greg said as he put his hand on Mason's shoulder.

"Only if I get to saw you in half," Mason said as he smiled.

"I don't know about that," Greg said as he chuckled.

"I haven't seen those two laugh together in a long time," Logan said to the others.

"It's good that they're closer together now," Jun said as she helped Beth with the garbage.

Jirou looked over at Mason and his father enjoying being together. A tear ran down Jirou's cheek as he turned away.

"I miss you too dad," Jirou said to himself as he carried a garbage bag away.

On Cosmo's ship, Ripcon walked into the control room and saw no one was there. Ripcon then left the room and headed down the hallway and came up to another door. Ripcon quickly opened the door and saw a woman standing in the room.

"Where did you come from?" Ripcon asked the woman as he pulled out one of his swords.

"Easy you moron," Ms. Kay said as she turned around.

Ms. Kay suddenly transformed into Madame Odius in front of Ripcon.

"It's only me," Madame Odius told Ripcon.

"Odius, why were you a human just then?" Ripcon asked Madame Odius.

"It's a new trick of mine," Madame Odius told Ripcon. "I'm using it to keep my eyes on the Rangers,"

"Ah, I see," Ripcon said as he put his sword away.

"Those Rangers are growing even closer together by the day," Madame Odius told Ripcon. "If we want those Power Stars, we need to hurry and stop them before it's too late,"

"Don't worry, we'll think of something," Ripcon said as he turned back towards the door.

As Ripcon left the room, Madame Odius turned towards a poster of Cosmo on her wall.

"Oh, I've already thought of something," Madame Odius said as she snickered and pulled out the Gold Power Star.


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Conquering the Creepy Crawlers

Inside of the Ranger's base beneath the antique shop, Hitoshi was on the computer with Mason sitting near him. Hitoshi turned towards Mason and sighed as the other Rangers came walking up.

"Nothing in your DNA has changed," Hitoshi told Mason.

"Then how did I get those powers all of a sudden?" Mason asked Hitoshi.

"I guess it's from the Power Stars," Hitoshi said to Mason.

"So the Power Stars can give us more than just the ability to become a Power Ranger?" Jun asked her father.

"I guess so," Hitoshi said as he shrugged his shoulders.

"Odd, Mason is the only one to have these powers though," Jirou said as Logan was working on something in the background.

Beth looked behind Jirou and noticed Logan was up to something.

"Logan, what're you doing?" Beth asked Logan.

"Oh, it's nothing," Logan said as he sat a ninja star made from ninja steel down on the table.

Hitoshi walked over to Logan and looked on the computer screen behind him.

"What is this then?" Hitoshi asked Logan.

"That's just something I've been working on," Logan told Hitoshi.

"Is that the only thing?" Hitoshi asked Logan.

"Well, there was one other thing," Logan said as he twiddled his thumbs.

Logan opened the desk and revealed a tray with five items on it.

"What're those?" Hitoshi asked Logan.

"They're communication devices I created for us to use," Logan said to everyone. "I call them Ninja Comms,"

"Do they have to look like an oversized wristwatch?" Mason asked Logan as he took one of the Ninja Comms.

"As long as they look like normal wristwatches its fine," Jun told Mason.

"Yeah, we don't want people noticing them too easily," Beth said to Mason.

"Someone will notice these huge things though," Mason said as he put the Ninja Comm on his wrist.

"Then start wearing long sleeves," Jirou said as he took his Ninja Comm.

Logan went back to the computer and continued working as the other Rangers walked out of the lab with their new Ninja Comms. Mason looked back inside the lab with a smirk on his face.

"I hope this works," Mason whispered to himself as he pointed his finger towards Logan.

Mason's finger began glowing and sent a small trail of light towards Logan. The light hit Logan on the shoulder and began forming something as Logan continued working.

"What're you working on?" Hitoshi asked Logan.

"Oh, it's just a new way of transportation for us," Logan told Hitoshi as the light turned into a tarantula on Logan's shoulder.

Hitoshi gazed over and noticed the tarantula on Logan's shoulder. Hitoshi screamed and jumped back away from Logan.

"What's wrong?" Logan asked Hitoshi in concern.

"Don't look over," Hitoshi said to Logan cautiously.

Logan slowly looked over and saw the tarantula on his shoulder. Logan began screaming loudly in horror as Mason laughed at him. Logan tripped on a cable and fell to the ground with the tarantula still on him. Logan began rolling around and screaming as Mason continued laughing.

"Get it off!" Logan shouted as the tarantula disappeared.

"Calm down it's gone!" Hitoshi said to Logan as he knelt down to help him.

Logan grabbed Hitoshi's hand and heard Mason chuckling at the door.

"That wasn't funny man!" Logan shouted at Mason.

"Oh, it definitely was," Mason said as he wiped a tear from his eye.

"You might have new powers, but you sure don't know how to use them correctly," Logan said in frustration.

"Come on dude, it was just a joke," Mason said as Logan walked by him.

"Don't talk to me," Logan said to Mason as he headed up the stairs.

"Logan!" Mason shouted as Hitoshi walked up beside him.

"You really shouldn't have done that," Hitoshi told Mason.

"Can we not have a little fun around here?" Mason asked Hitoshi.

"That wasn't fun," Hitoshi said to Mason.

Mason sighed as Hitoshi walked up the stairs and left him behind.

"I guess I did overdo it a little," Mason said to himself.

Upstairs, Logan was sitting alone near the front window of the store. Beth walked over to Logan and sat down in a seat near him.

"Are you okay?" Beth asked Logan.

"Yeah, just a little ticked off," Logan told Beth as he continued staring out the window.

"I'm sure Mason didn't mean to hurt your feelings," Beth said to Logan.

"He didn't really hurt my feelings," Logan said to Beth. "He knows I'm afraid of spiders,"

"He's your best friend," Beth told Logan as she placed her hand on his shoulder. "Stuff like this will happen all the time,"

"Yeah, well it shouldn't," Logan said as he rose to his feet.

"Mason probably feels bad about what happened anyway," Beth said to Logan as Logan walked away.

"I'm going back downstairs," Logan said to Beth. "If he wants to apologize he can wait,"

"Wow, I never thought I'd see Logan like this," Jirou said as he walked over to Beth.

"He'll be fine in a few hours," Beth said as she got up.

Standing on the stage inside of his ship, Cosmo was waving to the crowd of monsters and aliens as he chuckled uncontrollably. Cosmo suddenly calmed down and raised a microphone up to his mouth.

"Creeps and freaks, are you ready for another contestant to test their might against the Power Rangers?" Cosmo asked the crowd as they began roaring.

As the crowd continued cheering a spider crawled up onto Cosmo's shoulder.

"Then let's give a warm welcome to Tangleweb!" Cosmo shouted as he pointed towards the curtain.

The crowd began growing silent as Cosmo was standing still pointing at the curtain.

"Tangleweb?" Cosmo said in confusion.

The spider on Cosmo's shoulder began glowing and leapt off of Cosmo's shoulder causing him to scream in horror. The spider transformed into a large humanoid spider with a white box on its back.

"I'm ready to scare those Rangers right out of their spandex!" Tangleweb shouted as Cosmo caught his breath.

"Don't ever scare me like that again," Cosmo said to Tangleweb.

"Then I guess it's time for me to begin tangling those Rangers up," Tangleweb said as he walked away.

"Now to send out the Buzzcams!" Cosmo shouted as the screen behind him turned on.

Back at the antique shop, Beth was helping a customer at the counter as a loud metal grinding noise was heard coming from underground. The customer began looking around in confusion as Beth nervously counted the change for the customer.

"What is that noise?" The woman asked Beth.

"It's probably those guys at the garage nearby," Beth said nervously as she handed the money to the woman.

"But it sounds like it's coming from below us?" The woman said in confusion.

"Thank you for stopping by," Beth said to the woman as the woman walked towards the door carrying the painting she bought.

Beth sighed in relief as she made her way into the backroom.

"What is Logan up to?" Beth wondered as she opened the secret doorway.

As Beth continued down the stairs the noise began getting louder. Beth covered her ears as she came into the base and saw sparks flying from around Logan.

"What're you doing?" Beth asked Logan as she walked up behind him.

"What?" Logan said in confusion as he turned off the sander.

"You're being a little noisy I hope you know," Beth told Logan.

"Oh, I didn't think anyone could hear anything from down here," Logan said as he sat the sander down.

"I guess we need to find a way to keep the noise down here," Beth said as she noticed the old motorcycle Logan was working on.

"That's not done yet," Logan told Beth.

"What is it?" Beth asked Logan.

"I'm working on making us a way to get around the city quicker," Logan said to Beth.

"Have you ever even ridden a motorcycle before?" Beth asked Logan as she leaned on the table.

"Yeah, a lot when I was younger," Logan said to Beth. "My dad took me riding all the time,"

Logan grabbed a rag and wiped the oil off his hands as he sighed.

"That is until he passed away four years ago," Logan said in disappointment.

"I'm sorry," Beth said in concern.

"It's fine," Logan said as he sat the rag down.

"He ran a garage in town didn't he?" Beth asked Logan.

"Yeah, my uncle runs the place now," Logan told Beth. "Hopefully I can start working there soon,"

"Well good luck working on that motorcycle," Beth said as she headed towards the stairs. "I need to get back upstairs before more customers show up,"

"Alright, I'll be done here if you need help," Logan said as he picked the sander back up.

As Beth went back upstairs, Logan continued working on the motorcycle by himself.

Out in the woods outside of the city, Jirou was wearing his training gear standing still. The wind gently began blowing as Jirou slowly opened his eyes. Mason dropped down from a tree and swung his sword at Jirou as Jirou flipped back in an instant.

"How did you know I was attacking?" Mason asked Jirou.

"That was a nice idea waiting for the wind," Jirou told Mason. "However, you rustled the leaves too much,"

"Whatever," Mason said as he rolled his eyes.

"How about you use your magic?" Jun asked Mason as she walked out from behind a tree.

"I don't think it will work that way," Mason said as he shrugged his shoulders.

"Why wouldn't it?" Jirou asked Mason as he walked over.

"Fine I'll try," Mason said as he tossed his sword aside.

As Mason's hands began faintly glowing, a spider slowly dropped down from a tree and landed on Jun's shoulder. Mason groaned in annoyance as his hands stopped glowing.

"See," Mason said as he crossed his arms.

"You just need to keep practicing with it," Jirou told Mason.

"How about we spar while he practices with his magic?" Jun asked Jirou.

"Sounds good to me," Jirou said as he and Jun stepped aside.

"Don't get cranky when I beat you," Jun said as the spider jumped off of her and landed on Mason's back.

"You two have fun," Mason said as he walked off when Jirou and Jun began training.

Mason continued walking staring down at his hands.

"Am I missing something?" Mason asked himself as he walked into a spider web.

Mason began screaming as he tore the web off of his head.

"Gross!" Mason shouted in disgust as he wiped the web on his hands off in the grass.

The spider leapt off of Mason's back as it began glowing. Tangleweb landed on the ground and began snickering. Mason slowly turned around and saw Tangleweb standing behind him.

"Great, a giant spider," Mason said as he pulled out his morpher.

Tangleweb spewed a blast of web out of his mouth and instantly wrapped Mason up in the webs. Mason fell to the ground with the web covering his mouth as Tangleweb crept up to him.

"One down, four to go," Tangleweb said as he snickered.

A purple vortex suddenly appeared in front of Tangleweb as he began laughing evilly. The vortex instantly sucked Mason in and sent him to a room covered in web.

"Now that you're inside me, it will only be a matter of time before you rot away from my acids," Tangleweb said to Mason.

Mason began struggling to get free as he groaned loudly while tangled up in the web.

Over where Jun and Jirou were training, Jun blocked a kick from Jirou and shoved him away. Jirou regained his balance and quickly went after Jun again. Jun began knocking Jirou's fists away as he started throwing punches at her. As Jirou continued throwing punches, Jun noticed Jirou's fists began emitting smoke. Jun leaned out of the way as one of Jirou's fists went by her face engulfed in flames.

"Whoa!" Jirou shouted as he stopped in his tracks.

The flame on Jirou's hand went out as both he and Jun silently stared at his hand in astonishment.

"What was that?" Jun asked Jirou.

"I have no idea," Jirou said as he examined his hand.

"Maybe your Ninja Power Star did the same thing to you that Mason's did to him!" Jun told Jirou.

Jirou clenched his fist and threw a punch.

"It didn't work that time," Jirou said as he lowered his arm.

"I guess you need to get the hang of it like Mason and his magic," Jun said as she placed her hands on her hips.

"I guess so," Jirou said as a stream of web flew past Jun.

The web wrapped around Jirou's wrist and began pulling him towards Jun.

"What the heck?" Jun said in confusion as she turned around.

Jun saw Tangleweb with the webs hanging out of his mouth.

"You two are about to join your friend in my stomach!" Tangleweb shouted as Jirou fell to the ground being pulled by Tangleweb.

Jun pulled out her morpher and instantly morphed as Jirou was dragged past her.

"I've got you!" Jun shouted as she struck the web with her Ninja Star Blade.

Jirou quickly got to his feet as he was freed from the web.

"You will not escape me!" Tangleweb shouted at Jirou and Jun.

"Then we'll just exterminate you!" Jirou shouted as he pulled out his morpher.

Tangleweb's four arms on his back suddenly extended and flew towards Jirou.

"Watch out for those blades!" Jun shouted as one of the arms flew past her.

One of the arms struck Jirou's morpher and knocked it out of his hand. Jun slashed away at one of the arms causing Tangleweb to scream in pain.

"That wasn't very nice!" Tangleweb shouted as each of his arms began swinging at Jun.

Jun began deflecting the arms as they swung at her with the blades continuously.

"Hang on Jun!" Jirou shouted as he quickly picked up his morpher.

Tangleweb shot a stream of webbing at Jun and easily restrained her.

"No!" Jirou shouted as he watched Jun struggle to break free.

"Go warn Beth and Logan!" Jun shouted as she was being pulled towards Tangleweb.

Tangleweb's eyes flashed as the purple vortex appeared in front of him. Jun was instantly pulled into the vortex as Jirou watched in horror.

"Jun!" Jirou shouted as Tangleweb began laughing.

"Now it's your turn," Tangleweb said as he fired a stream of webbing at Jirou.

Jirou raised his arm and blocked the webbing from wrapping around his body.

"Come on!" Jirou shouted as he clenched his fist.

Jirou's right hand became engulfed in flames as he struck the webbing with his flaming fist. The webbing burnt away from around Jirou's forearm leaving Tangleweb astounded.

"Looks like you're missing out on seconds," Jirou said as he threw down a smoke bomb causing a cloud of smoke to fill the area.

"You won't escape me!" Tangleweb shouted as he ran deeper into the smoke.

The smoke slowly cleared out and revealed that Jirou was gone. Tangleweb groaned in anger as he punched a hole through a tree with ease.

"Looks like I need to go back undercover in the city," Tangleweb said as a Buzzcam flew by as he transformed into a smaller spider.

Back at the antique shop, Beth was sitting behind the counter by herself. As Beth went to sigh in boredom, the front door slung open. Jirou walked into the antique shop breathing heavily and sweat running down his face.

"Whoa, was training that rough today?" Beth asked Jirou.

"No, but we've got a big problem," Jirou told Beth.

"What happened?" Beth asked Jirou in concern as she rose from her seat.

"Jun and Mason were captured by a spider monster," Jirou told Beth.

"Oh no!" Beth said in horror.

"Go get Logan and get ready," Jirou said to Beth.

"Right," Beth said as she headed towards the back.

Beth hurried down into the base and heard Logan still working on the motorcycle. As Beth walked into the base, Logan stopped working and looked over towards her.

"There's a monster on the loose and it captured Jun and Mason," Beth told Logan.

"Oh crap," Logan said as he took off his gloves.

Out in the city, Jirou, Beth and Logan ran up the street searching for Tangleweb. Jirou came to a halt and held his Ninja Comm up to his mouth.

"Hitoshi, is there any way you can search for this monster?" Jirou asked Hitoshi through the Ninja Comm.

"Aside from security cameras, not really," Hitoshi told Jirou.

"How do we find a giant spider?" Beth asked the guys.

"We don't," Logan said as he pointed up ahead.

Jirou and Beth looked up ahead and saw a bunch of Kudabots approaching them. Tangleweb walked out in front of the Kudabots laughing evilly.

"It finds us," Logan said to Beth.

"There won't be any escaping this time," Tangleweb said to the Rangers.

"Watch out for the webs and those extra arms," Jirou said as he pulled out his morpher.

The Rangers placed their Ninja Power Stars on their morphers and prepared to morph.

"Ninja Spin!" The Rangers shouted as they activated their morphers.

The Rangers instantly morphed and took off running towards Tangleweb.

"Tear them apart!" Tangleweb shouted as the Kudabots ran past him.

Jirou ran up to a Kudabot and knocked its spear out of its hand causing the spear to stab another nearby Kudabot. Jirou slashed the Kudabot across the chest and quickly went after another Kudabot.

"Too easy!" Logan shouted as he rolled past a Kudabot.

Logan jumped back to his feet and struck another Kudabot away with his Ninja Star Blade.

"These bucket heads are just getting in the way!" Tangleweb said in frustration.

Tangleweb fired a stream of webbing at Beth and wrapped it around her waist. Beth began screaming as she was being pulled towards Tangleweb.

"Hold on Beth!" Jirou shouted as he ran up and grabbed her hand.

Jirou began struggling to hold onto Beth as Tangleweb began pulling him in along with her.

"He's too strong!" Jirou shouted as he held onto Beth's hand.

"Just let me go!" Beth shouted at Jirou.

"No, I'm not losing anyone else," Jirou said as he struck the webs with his sword.

Logan looked over at Jirou trying to save Beth and saw that Jirou's sword couldn't cut through the web.

"Looks like I'm going to get a two for one!" Tangleweb shouted as the purple vortex appeared in front of him.

"Jirou, I know you and Logan can beat this freak," Beth told Jirou.

"That's not happening!" Jirou said to Beth.

"Hang on!" Logan shouted as he began making his way over to Jirou as he attacked Kudabots in his way.

The purple vortex began pulling Beth and Jirou in even faster.

"Jirou, please save us," Beth said as she pulled her hand away from Jirou.

"No!" Jirou shouted as he watched Beth get sucked into the vortex.

Logan ran over to Jirou and tackled him away from the pull of the vortex.

"Don't worry, we can get them back," Logan said to Jirou as he helped him up.

Jirou looked up at Tangleweb and saw him fire another stream of webbing towards him and Logan.

"Move!" Jirou shouted as he shoved Logan out of the way.

The webbing wrapped around Jirou's waist as Logan watched lying on the ground.

"What're you thinking?" Logan asked Jirou.

"I'm counting on you," Jirou said to Logan.

"No, I won't let you do this!" Logan shouted as he jumped to his feet.

"I'm going to tear this guy apart from the inside," Jirou said as he began being pulled towards Tangleweb.

The purple vortex opened up once again and quickly pulled Jirou into it with ease.

"Ha, what a fool!" Tangleweb shouted with laughter.

Logan stared at Tangleweb in shock as the remaining Kudabots began approaching him.

"I'm the only one left," Logan said in disbelief.

"And soon you will join your friends and then no one will be able to save you," Tangleweb said as he laughed evilly.

Inside of Tangleweb, Mason and Jun were wrapped up in web hanging on the walls as Beth and Jirou suddenly appeared before them. Mason slowly looked over and saw the webs approaching them.

"No way, the spider freak even got Jirou," Mason said weakly as Jirou slowly leaned up with the web still around his waist.

Jirou saw the webs approaching him and quickly rose to his feet.

"Hang on, I'll get us out of here," Jirou said as his sword appeared in his hand.

A web shot from the wall and pulled the sword away from Jirou.

"Damn it!" Jirou shouted as another stream of webbing wrapped around his legs.

Jirou fell to the ground and saw the web on the ground beginning to cover up Beth.

"Hang on guys!" Jirou shouted at the others. "We still have a chance to get out of here!"

Back outside, Logan was struggling to fight off the horde of Kudabots around him as Tangleweb laughed evilly while watching. Logan was hit by one of the Kudabots spears and fell back to the ground in pain. Logan slowly leaned up and saw the Kudabots approaching him again.

"I can't do this on my own," Logan said in fear.

Logan struggled to his feet with his sword in hand.

"I'm not giving up though," Logan said to himself. "My friends need me,"

"Just give up already," Tangleweb said to Logan.

"No, I'm not quitting," Logan said to Tangleweb.

Back in the Rangers base, Hitoshi walked down into the base and saw that the Ninja Nexus Prism began glowing. Hitoshi ran up to the Ninja Nexus Prism and gazed at it in amazement.

"What's happening here?" Hitoshi wondered as the Ninja Nexus Prism began glowing brighter.

Hitoshi quickly moved out of the way as the Ninja Nexus Prism fired a blast. The blast hit the motorcycle Logan was working on causing it to transform. Pieces of ninja steel from a nearby bucket began combining onto the motorcycle as it continued changing.

"Holy cow!" Hitoshi said in amazement.

The motorcycle transformed into a Power Star and flew over to Hitoshi as he quickly caught it. Hitoshi then looked over at the monitor and saw Logan struggling against the Kudabots.

"Hang in there Logan," Hitoshi said as he threw the Power Star. "Helps on the way,"

The Power Star disappeared as it was about to hit the wall.

Back in the city Logan was hit by one of Tangleweb's bladed arms and fell to the ground in pain. The Kudabots quickly surrounded Logan as he struggled to get up. Tangleweb began approaching the group as he snickered.

"It's now time for your doom," Tangleweb said as he laughed.

A Ninja Power Star struck Tangleweb and knocked him away from Logan and the Kudabots. The Power Star fell to the ground in front of Logan and caught his attention.

"What's this?" Logan said in confusion as he grabbed the Power Star.

Logan tossed the Power Star into the air causing the Power Star to instantly grow and transform. The Power Star transformed into a motorcycle and released a powerful shockwave blowing the Kudabots away from Logan.

"Wait, is that the motorcycle I was working on?" Logan wondered as the motorcycle landed in front of him.

Logan slowly rose to his feet and walked up to the motorcycle.

"Where did that thing come from?" Tangleweb said in confusion as he saw Logan looking at his motorcycle.

Logan got on the motorcycle and revved up the engine.

"Nice," Logan said in amazement. "I think I'll call it the Mega Morph Cycle,"

"I don't care what it's called!" Tangleweb shouted at Logan. "I'm going to make sure you suffer the same fate as your friends,"

"Catch me if you can," Logan said as he hit the gas causing the back wheel to spin.

Logan sped off towards Tangleweb as Tangleweb fired a stream of webs at him.

"I'm not getting caught in those!" Logan shouted as he fired lasers at the webs.

The lasers hit the webs causing them to burn away in an instant. The Kudabots rose to their feet and took off running after Logan. Logan quickly turned around and sped towards the Kudabots.

"Plasma Blast!" Logan shouted as the Mega Morph Cycle fired a powerful laser at the Kudabots.

The laser struck the ground near the Kudabots causing an explosion that engulfed the Kudabots. Logan hit the brakes and looked over at Tangleweb.

"Looks like we're both on our own now," Logan said as he revved up the engine.

"Then come at me!" Tangleweb shouted as he stretched his four arms out towards Logan.

Logan hit the gas and began speeding towards Tangleweb. As the bladed arms came at Logan, Logan began knocking them away with his Ninja Star Blade.

"Now for the finish," Logan said as he jumped up on the seat.

"What is he thinking?" Tangleweb said in confusion.

"Plasma Blast!" Logan shouted as he fired a blast from the Mega Morph Cycle.

The blast struck Tangleweb causing him to become dazed.

"Steel Slash!" Logan shouted as he leapt off the Mega Morph Cycle and pressed a button on his Ninja Star Blade.

Logan began striking Tangleweb repeatedly as he moved around him at blinding speed. Logan suddenly landed in front of Tangleweb causing his Ninja Star Blade to stop glowing. As Tangleweb screamed in pain and began to fall, four glowing white orbs flew out of his body. As Tangleweb's body exploded the other Rangers appeared in front of Logan.

"Thank goodness!" Logan shouted in relief. "I can't believe you guys are alright!"

"It's thanks to you," Beth said as she slowly rose to her feet.

"I knew you could do it," Jirou said as he placed his hand on Logan's shoulder.

Logan looked over and saw Mason walk up to him.

"I'm sorry about earlier," Mason said to Logan.

"No, I took it too seriously when I shouldn't have," Logan told Mason.

Mason looked over at the Mega Morph Cycle and began snickering.

"Did you make that?" Mason asked Logan.

"You know it!" Logan said as he bumped Mason on the arm.

"Not bad," Mason said to Logan as a blast shot down from the sky.

The Rangers quickly turned around and saw Tangleweb grow instantly into a giant.

"Great, an even bigger creepy crawly to deal with," Jun said as she pulled out her Zord Star.

Jirou placed his Zord Star on his Ninja Star Blade and quickly spun the star.

"Out of the Shadows!" Jirou shouted as he and the other Rangers leapt into the air.

Jirou landed on the shoulder of his Robo Red Zord as his zord ran quickly down the street.

"Activate Megazord Mode!" Jirou shouted as he spun his Zord Star once again.

The five zords came near each other and quickly combined into the Megazord in front of Tangleweb. The Rangers appeared in the Megazord's cockpit and readied for battle.

"Let's exterminate this creep!" Mason shouted as the Megazord began marching towards Tangleweb.

"Let's see you slice through this!" Tangleweb shouted as he shot a large stream of webs at the Megazord.

The webs instantly wrapped around the Megazord immobilizing it.

"The controls are jammed!" Beth shouted as she began pressing buttons on her console next to her.

"What do we do now?" Mason asked the others.

"Mason, Logan, keep trying to get us free," Jirou said as he stepped away from his console.

"What're you doing?" Logan asked Jirou.

"I'm going to distract the freak until the Megazord is free," Jirou said as he walked away.

"Is he insane?" Jun asked the others.

"Nope, he's just being Jirou," Mason said as his Dragon Zord arm of the Megazord continued struggling to break free.

Jirou stepped out onto the shoulder of the Megazord and saw Tangleweb send his four bladed arms towards the Megazord. Jirou leapt off the Megazord and narrowly evaded the bladed arms.

"Red Ninja Slash!" Jirou shouted as his body began glowing red along with his sword.

Jirou flew towards Tangleweb at blinding speed and stabbed his sword into Tangleweb's chest.

"That felt like a flea bit!" Tangleweb shouted as he laughed and swatted Jirou away.

Jirou fell onto a nearby rooftop hard and struggled to get up. Jirou looked over at the Megazord and saw it being hit repeatedly by Tangleweb's arms.

"What do we do?" Jirou asked himself as he clenched his fist.

Behind Jirou, a person wearing a hooded cloak began approaching Jirou. Jirou quickly turned around and saw the person walk up to him.

"Who are you?" Jirou asked the person.

The person pulled their hand out of the cloak and revealed a new Ninja Power Star. The person tossed the Power Star to Jirou.

"Is this a new Zord Star?" Jirou said in confusion. "Where did you get this?"

A loud explosion was heard causing Jirou to turn around. Tangleweb was still striking the Megazord with his arms. Jirou turned back around and saw that the mysterious person was gone.

"Where did they go?" Jirou said in confusion.

Jirou looked down at the Power Star and clenched it in his hands.

"Let's see what this thing can do," Jirou said as he placed the Zord Star on his sword.

Jirou quickly spun the Zord Star causing it to begin glowing. Outside of the city, a new zord resembling an elephant rose out of the ground and let out a loud roar. The zord took off running towards the city in a hurry.

"Hey, there it is!" Jirou said as he saw the zord run towards him.

Jirou leapt off the roof and landed on top of the new zord.

"Alright buddy, let's save our friends!" Jirou shouted as the zord ran towards Tangleweb and the Megazord.

"Whoa, where did that zord come from?" Mason asked the others as the new zord ran up.

As Jirou sat on the top of the zord, his Ninja Comm began going off.

"Hitoshi, what's wrong?" Jirou asked Hitoshi.

"Jirou, where did that zord come from?" Hitoshi asked Jirou.

"Some person in a cloak gave me the Zord Star," Jirou told Hitoshi.

"Well that zord is the Rumble Tusk Zord," Hitoshi told Jirou. "It's a legendary zord that was lost centuries ago,"

"Then I can't wait to see what this thing can do," Jirou said as he lowered his arm.

"I'll tangle you up too!" Tangleweb shouted as he fired another stream of webs at the Rumble Tusk Zord.

"Blow them away!" Jirou shouted as the Rumble Tusk Zord raised its trunk.

The Rumble Tusk Zord fired a powerful blast of air from its trunk and blew the web back at Tangleweb.

"Ugh, now I'm all tangled up!" Tangleweb shouted as he tried to free himself.

The Rumble Tusk Zord suddenly began transforming causing Jirou to lose his balance.

"Whoa!" Jirou shouted as he leapt back towards the Megazord.

The Rumble Tusk Zord transformed into a humanoid form with mounted shoulder cannons.

"Whoa, it looks kind of like my Robo Red Zord now!" Jirou said in amazement.

The Rumble Tusk Ninja Zord leapt into the air and began firing blasts down at Tangleweb.

"Knock it off already!" Tangleweb shouted as he freed himself from the webs.

The Rumble Tusk Zord transformed back into its other mode and turned towards the Megazord. The zord then began sucking in through its trunk and pulled the webbing off the Megazord.

"The controls are back online!" Beth said to the others.

"If that zord has a humanoid mode similar to my zord, then perhaps it can combine with us too," Jirou said as he returned to the cockpit.

Jirou spun the Power Star on his sword causing the Megazord and Rumble Tusk Zord to begin glowing.

"Activate Rumble Tusk Ninja Steel Megazord!" Jirou shouted as his Robo Red Zord leapt out of its compartment.

The right arm of the Megazord detached along with the head. The Robo Red Zord then attached to the Megazord as the right arm as the Rumble Tusk Ninja Zord entered the compartment on the front of the Megazord. A new head attached on top of the Megazord along with two axes in the Megazord's hands.

"Awesome!" Logan shouted as the back wall of the cockpit changed behind him.

"Now let's finish this!" Jirou shouted as he spun the Power Star once again.

"Double Axe Final Attack!" The Rangers shouted as the Megazord hurled its two axes at Tangleweb.

The two axes sliced Tangleweb in an X motion causing him to instantly explode. The axes returned to the Megazord's hands as it slowly turned away from the explosion.

On a nearby rooftop, the cloaked person was watching the Rangers. The person removed their hood. The girl began smirking as the sun was setting behind the Megazord.

"You don't know what's coming," The girl said as she continued staring at the Megazord. "At least not yet,"

On Cosmo's ship, Galvanax was furious about the Rangers being victorious once again. Galvanax struck a Kudabot with its own spear causing it to explode. Ripcon walked into the room and saw Galvanax screaming in anger.

"Sir I know you're mad about Cosmo and his moronic contestants failing again," Ripcon said to Galvanax.

"What do you want?" Galvanax asked Ripcon as he snarled.

"I want you to give me a shot against the Rangers," Ripcon said as he knelt down in front of Galvanax.

"You think you can handle them?" Galvanax asked Ripcon.

"I will not hold back," Ripcon said as he looked up at Galvanax. "I will make sure those Rangers are torn apart limb by limb,"

"Then you better do as you say," Galvanax said as he sat down. "Or else I will tear you apart limb by limb,"

"Do not worry sir, I will prevail," Ripcon said as he walked out of the room.

At the Ranger's base, Logan was helping Hitoshi duplicate the Mega Morph Cycle Power Star. Across the room Jirou was sitting by himself being quiet as the others chatted about earlier. Beth looked over and saw Jirou sitting by himself and headed over towards him.

"You okay?" Beth asked Jirou as she sat down next to him.

"Yeah, I was just wondering who that person was," Jirou told Beth.

"Well, whoever it is, they're on our side," Beth told Jirou.

"I don't know," Jirou said as he turned away. "What if they're not?"

"Then we'll stop them too," Beth said as she placed her hand on Jirou's shoulder.

Beth got up and walked back over to the others leaving Jirou by himself. Jirou rose to his feet and left the base without the others noticing him.

"I need answers," Jirou said as he walked up the stairs. "I'm going to find this person again,"


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Ninja of the Forest

Out in the city, Jirou was standing on the edge of a building where he was given the Rumble Tusk Zord's Zord Star. Jirou reached into his pocket and pulled out the Zord Star and stared down at it. Jirou sighed in boredom as he stepped away from the edge of the building.

"It's been two days," Jirou said to himself. "That girl hasn't been seen since,"

Jirou put the Zord Star away and began walking towards the door. As Jirou grabbed the door knob, he looked over his shoulder towards a building with the sun reflecting off its windows.

"Why did she help us?" Jirou wondered as he opened the door.

Jirou closed the door behind him and began walking down the stairs. Back on the rooftop a person in ninja gear suddenly appeared next to the door.

"I'm surprised he couldn't sense my presence," The ninja said as she pulled her mask off. "I guess he's not as good as they once said,"

In the forest outside of the city, the other Rangers were training together without Jirou. Mason and Logan were training with their Ninja Star Blades while Beth and Jun were training in hand-to-hand combat. Jun caught Beth by the arm and flipped Beth to the ground with ease.

"Ugh, easy!" Beth said in pain as Jun let her go.

"Those monsters won't go easy on you," Jun said as she held her hand out to Beth.

Beth grabbed Jun's hand and was helped to her feet.

"After all the training we've already done you'd think we'd be ready for anything," Beth said to Jun.

"There's no end to training," Jun told Beth as she grabbed her towel.

"Yeah I know," Beth said as she leaned against a tree. "But the stuff can get tiring at times,"

Beth looked over at Mason and Logan training and watched as Logan evaded Mason's sword by rolling past him.

"Come on Mason," Logan said to Mason as he chuckled. "I know you can do better than that,"

"I'm going to make you regret saying that!" Mason shouted as he took off towards Logan.

Logan started running away from Mason and headed towards a tree. Logan ran up the trunk and easily flipped over Mason causing Mason to run into the tree. Mason fell back to the ground holding his face.

"Oh crap!" Logan said in concern as he knelt down beside Mason.

"I'm fine," Mason said as he leaned up. "It's just a scrape,"

"You better hope it is," Logan said as he helped Mason up.

"Has Jirou still not returned home yet?" Mason asked Jun as he and Logan walked over to the girls.

"Nope, and he won't answer his Ninja Comm either," Jun told Mason.

"I'm sure he has a reason to go off on his own," Logan said as he unzipped his bag.

"And what reason would that be?" Mason asked Logan.

"It is odd that he would leave right after we got that new zord," Beth said as she walked over.

"Well I'm fixing to go look for him," Mason said as he picked up his bag.

"Alright, be careful out there," Logan said as Mason walked off with his bag over his shoulder.

"I say we head back to the shop and check and see if Jirou's back yet," Jun said as she packed up her things.

"Sounds good to me," Beth said as she nodded. "I need to finish this homework anyway,"

Jun walked off with Beth and Logan following behind her and headed back to the city.

At the antique shop, Hitoshi came out from the backroom and stepped behind the counter. Hitoshi sat down in the chair and sighed in relief as the front door slowly opened.

"Welcome!" Hitoshi said as he looked over at the door.

Hitoshi raised an eyebrow when he saw no one at the door.

"Odd?" Hitoshi said in confusion as he slowly rose to his feet.

As Hitoshi walked up to the front door, the mysterious girl appeared suddenly in the backroom.

"It must be those annoying kids again," Hitoshi said as he turned away from the door.

Hitoshi gasped when he saw the girl standing in the backroom in front of him.

"Customers aren't allowed back there ma'am," Hitoshi said to the girl as he approached her.

As Hitoshi drew closer, he noticed the ninja gear the girl was wearing. Hitoshi spotted a symbol on the girl's suit causing his eyes to widen.

"Who sent you?" Hitoshi asked the girl.

"That's a rude way to treat a princess," The girl said to Hitoshi.

"Why would he send his daughter of all people?" Hitoshi asked her.

"My father didn't send me," The girl told Hitoshi. "I came on my own,"

"Then what do you want?" Hitoshi asked her.

"I came to inform the Red Ranger of something," The girl informed Hitoshi.

"Jirou hasn't been here for a few days," Hitoshi said to the girl.

"Oh I know," The girl said as she smirked. "He's been searching for me ever since I gifted him that Power Star,"

"I had a feeling one of your people was behind that," Hitoshi said as he sat back down behind the counter.

"That Power Star was one of the only ones forged on my island," The girl told Hitoshi.

"How did you forge Power Stars without the Ninja Nexus Prism?" Hitoshi asked the girl in confusion.

"We have one of our own," The girl said as she crossed her arms.

"Impossible, there is only one Ninja Nexus Prism!" Hitoshi said in disbelief.

"There are two," The girl said as she smirked. "The one on my island is much more ancient than yours,"

"And I'm only learning this now," Hitoshi said in shock.

"My Prism was the original who granted six of the most skilled ninja unlimited power," The girl told Hitoshi.

"They were the original Ninja Steel Rangers I assume?" Hitoshi asked the girl.

"That's correct," The girl said to Hitoshi. "Those warriors sacrificed their powers to defeat a powerful demon and doing so caused your Ninja Nexus Prism to be created,"

"The powers were sealed within a new Prism along with the demon who was sealed away like Norio once was," Hitoshi said as he thought to himself.

"Our Prism can still create new Power Stars from Ninja Steel," The girl told Hitoshi. "That is how the Rumble Tusk Zord Star came about,"

The girl put her mask back on and slowly approached the door.

"Once you locate the Red Ranger, tell him to meet me in the forest," The girl said to Hitoshi.

The girl vanished in front of Hitoshi and walked out the door.

"Things just got a bit more complicated," Hitoshi said to himself.

Out in the city, Jirou was walking down the street in the middle of a crowd of people. Jirou looked down in disappointment as he continued walking along with the people near him. Jirou suddenly bumped into the man in front of him causing the man to drop his phone.

"Watch where you're going!" The man shouted in frustration as he knelt down to pick up his phone.

"Sorry," Jirou said as he continued walking.

Across the street, Mason was walking around searching for Jirou. Mason heard a man across the street yelling and looked over to see what was going on.

"Hey, you broke my phone!" The man shouted at Jirou as he came up behind Jirou.

The man grabbed Jirou by the shoulder and made him turn around.

"Look, I'm not in the mood," Jirou said to the man.

"You're going to pay for the damages you did to my phone!" The man said to Jirou.

"It was an accident, I'm sorry," Jirou said to the man as he tried to walk away.

The man grabbed Jirou by the wrist.

"You're not going anywhere until you pay for my phone," The man said to Jirou.

"Alright that's enough!" Mason shouted as he shoved the man away from Jirou.

"Mason!" Jirou said in astonishment.

"Stay out of this!" The man shouted at Mason.

"No one is going to pay for that phone except you," Mason said to the man. "You're the one who was talking on your phone during rush hour,"

"You don't have to do this," Jirou said to Mason.

"Let's go before big mouth here makes things worse," Mason said to Jirou as he began walking away.

"Hey, I'm not finished with you!" The man shouted as Jirou walked off with Mason.

Jirou looked over his shoulder and saw the man struggling to get through the crowd.

"Where have you been?" Mason asked Jirou. "You've missed two days of school,"

"I was just looking for someone," Jirou said to Mason as he continued following him.

"Who do you know around here besides me and the others?" Mason asked Jirou.

"I wanted to know who it was that gave me the Rumble Tusk Power Star," Jirou explained to Mason. "She obviously knows something we don't,"

"What does she look like?" Mason asked Jirou.

"I don't know, she was wearing a cloak with a hood when I saw her," Jirou told Mason.

"That doesn't help at all," Mason said as he sighed.

Mason and Jirou's Ninja Comm suddenly began going off as they turned a corner.

"Looks like the others want us," Mason said as he walked into an alley with Jirou behind him.

Mason pressed a button on his Ninja Comm causing it to open up and reveal a screen. Hitoshi appeared on the screen.

"Mason, have you found Jirou?" Hitoshi asked Mason.

"Yeah, he's right here beside me," Mason told Hitoshi.

"Well, something important has come up for him," Hitoshi said to Mason.

"What is it?" Jirou asked Hitoshi as he looked down at the Ninjacom.

"Someone from the Ishihara Ninja Clan came by the shop searching for you," Hitoshi said to Jirou.

"Does that sound like Ms. Mysterious to you?" Mason asked Jirou.

"Yeah, it has to be her," Jirou said as he nodded.

"I'll send the coordinates of where she wants to meet you to your Ninjacom," Hitoshi said as he began typing.

"Have fun on your blind date," Mason said to Jirou as he chuckled.

"It's not a date," Jirou said as he walked off.

"Whatever," Mason said as he smiled.

Near an abandoned warehouse in the city, Ripcon suddenly appeared by himself snickering. Ripcon looked towards the skyline in the distance and slowly began heading towards the city.

"It's time I make those Rangers see what a real threat looks like," Ripcon said to himself as he continued walking.

As Ripcon walked towards the city, a homeless man dropped a bottle causing it to shatter at his feet. Ripcon looked over and saw the man shivering in fear.

"Run along before I have to make things worse for you," Ripcon said to the man.

The man began screaming and ran off in horror.

"Fool," Ripcon said as he continued walking.

Out in the forest, Jirou rode up on his Mega Morph Cycle and quickly stepped off of it as it reverted back into a Power Star. Jirou looked around and saw no one around him. Jirou walked over to a tree and began looking around in confusion.

"I'm here!" Jirou shouted as he turned around watching for them.

Behind Jirou, the girl suddenly appeared crouched on a tree branch. The girl dropped down from the branch and landed behind Jirou. Jirou quickly turned around and gasped when he saw the girl standing behind him.

"I didn't expect you to show up so soon," The girl said to Jirou.

"You're from the Ishihara Clan?" Jirou asked the girl. "I've never heard of them before,"

"That's because my clan was formed after you were sealed away with Norio," The girl told Jirou.

"You're from a clan and yet you can speak perfect English," Jirou said as he walked up to the girl.

"We don't just speak Japanese on my island anymore," The girl told Jirou.

"Who are you?" Jirou asked the girl.

"Trust me, you don't know who I am," The girl said as she giggled.

"Stop toying with me!" Jirou shouted as he stomped his foot.

The girl's eyes widened as she noticed a tear running down Jirou's face.

"I know that voice from anywhere," Jirou said as tears ran down his face.

"I'm not who you think I am," The girl said as she went to pull off her mask.

The girl removed her mask and revealed her face to Jirou. Jirou began sobbing as he saw her face.

"You look just like her," Jirou said as he continued crying.

"Who?" The girl asked Jirou.

"Kiyomi," Jirou said as he wiped the tears from his face. "My girlfriend from before I was sealed away,"

Jirou turned away from the girl and began crying again. The girl placed her hand on Jirou's shoulder.

"I look like her because I'm related to her," The girl told Jirou. "She's my ancestor,"

"What?" Jirou said in astonishment.

"After you were sealed away, Kiyomi left your village," The girl told Jirou. "She was saved from a group of samurai by the original grand master of my island,"

"What happened to her?" Jirou asked the girl.

"She went with the grand master and lived on the island that is now known as Ishihara Island," The girl told Jirou. "Her and the grand master fell in love and began the Ishihara Ninja Clan,"

"So, she did end up finding someone else," Jirou said as his eyes began watering again.

"She still loved you," The girl told Jirou. "She even named their first child after you,"

"I'm sorry Kiyomi," Jirou said as he turned towards a tree and punched it. "I wanted to be with you!"

Jirou began crying even more as the girl stood beside him with her hand on his shoulder.

"Kiyomi was a brave woman," The girl told Jirou. "It's because of her that women began becoming ninja on my island,"

"Is this why you asked for me?" Jirou asked the girl.

"Not necessarily," The girl said to Jirou. "I came to warn you about something else,"

"Warn me?" Jirou said in confusion.

"Before telling you, I should at least introduce myself," The girl said as she stepped away from Jirou.

"Alright then," Jirou said as he wiped the tears from his eyes.

"I was named after your once true love," The girl told Jirou. "I am Princess Kiyomi Ishihara of the Ishihara Ninja Clan,"

Jirou's eyes widened in disbelief as Kiyomi stood across from him.

"And like you Jirou, I am also a Power Ranger," Kiyomi said as she revealed a Green Ninja Power Star.

"No way!" Jirou said in astonishment. "I thought there were only six Ninja Power Stars!"

"Originally, yes," Kiyomi said as she nodded. "The Ninja Nexus Prism on my island created this Ninja Power Star when our island was attacked centuries ago,"

"So there are two Ninja Nexus Prisms?" Jirou asked Kiyomi.

"That's correct," Kiyomi said as she nodded. "The Prism on my island is the original, and the island was the home of the original Ninja Steel Power Rangers,"

"Then how did the one in my village come about?" Jirou asked Kiyomi.

"When the original Rangers were defeated, the last ounce of their powers was used to forge the Ninja Nexus Prism," Kiyomi told Jirou. "In deep space the powers formed a new Prism and incased it in Ninja Steel,"

"That kind of explains how the Prism creates these new Power Stars for us then," Jirou said to Kiyomi. "It's using the power from the previous Rangers,"

"No one knows where the Prism on my island came from," Kiyomi said as she leaned up against a tree.

Jirou reached into his pocket and pulled out his Ninja Power Star.

"So I'm not the first to use this power?" Jirou said as he thought to himself.

"You will definitely be the last," Someone said to Jirou.

Jirou's eyes widened as he quickly turned around and saw Ripcon approaching him.

"Ripcon!" Jirou said as Ripcon continued walking towards him and Kiyomi.

"I won't be losing this time," Ripcon said as he pulled out his swords from their sheaths.

"Stand back," Jirou said to Kiyomi.

"I might be a princess, but I'm still a trained ninja warrior," Kiyomi said as her right hand began glowing.

Jirou looked down at Kiyomi's hand and saw a blue and silver Ninja Battle Morpher appear in her hand.

"What's this?" Ripcon said in confusion.

Kiyomi revealed the Green Ninja Power Star to Ripcon as she smirked.

"Another Power Star!" Ripcon said in astonishment.

Kiyomi placed her Power Star in her morpher.

"Ninja Spin!" Kiyomi shouted as she spun the star.

A green vortex of leaves surrounded Kiyomi causing Jirou to back away from her. A green flash briefly lit up the area causing Ripcon to shield his eyes.

"She actually is a Ranger!" Jirou said in amazement as he saw a Green Ranger standing in front of him.

Kiyomi pulled out her Ninja Star Blade and took off running towards Ripcon.

"Let's see what you can do princess!" Ripcon shouted as he swung his swords at Kiyomi.

Kiyomi rolled past Ripcon and evaded his swords.

"I can't let her take on Ripcon on her own," Jirou said as his morpher appeared in his hand.

Jirou placed his Power Star in his morpher and quickly spun the star as he ran towards Ripcon and Kiyomi. Jirou instantly morphed and swung his sword at Ripcon. Ripcon blocked Jirou's sword and knocked him aside by slashing him across the chest with his other sword.

"You are pathetic!" Ripcon shouted at Jirou.

Kiyomi ran up behind Ripcon and struck him across the back with her Ninja Star Blade. Ripcon rolled away from Kiyomi and quickly turned towards her.

"Lucky scratch," Ripcon said as he snickered.

Jirou ran over to Kiyomi and prepared for Ripcon to make another move.

"Please tell me he was what you were warning me about," Jirou said to Kiyomi.

"Not entirely," Kiyomi said as she took off running towards Ripcon once again.

Jirou groaned in frustration and ran off behind Kiyomi towards Ripcon. The two Rangers swung their swords at Ripcon but were quickly blocked by Ripcon's two swords. Ripcon kicked both of the Rangers and sent them falling back to the ground.

"Not even two Rangers can stop me," Ripcon said as his swords began glowing.

"What's he doing?" Jirou asked Kiyomi.

"He's using one of his secret techniques," Kiyomi informed Jirou.

"Double Sword Doom Strike!" Ripcon shouted as he swung his two swords vertically and then horizontally.

A fierce energy wave created by the slashes flew towards Jirou and Kiyomi and struck them in an instant causing an explosion. Jirou and Kiyomi crashed into the trunk of a tree and fell to the ground in bad shape.

"This is too easy!" Ripcon shouted as he approached the two Rangers.

"Jirou, use this," Kiyomi said to Jirou as she handed him a Power Star.

"What does this thing do?" Jirou asked Kiyomi as he slowly rose to his feet.

"Trust me, you'll like it," Kiyomi said as she gave Jirou a thumbs up.

"Alright then," Jirou said as he placed the Power Star on his Ninja Star Blade.

Jirou spun the Power Star causing a bright light to fill the area.

"What's going on here?" Ripcon said in confusion as he was blinded by the light.

Jirou's Ninja Star Blade transformed into a new sword in his hand as armor was formed on Jirou's upper body. The light slowly faded away and revealed Jirou holding a new sword with ninja stars in its blade.

"Whoa, what is this power?" Jirou said in confusion.

"That's Ninja Master Mode," Kiyomi said as she rose to her feet. "A Power Star I made before coming here,"

"I don't care if you're wearing fancy armor now," Ripcon said as his swords began glowing once again.

"Use the Ninja Master Blade's final attack," Kiyomi said to Jirou.

"How do I do that?" Jirou asked Kiyomi.

"Like this!" Kiyomi said as she pulled the ripcord.

The Ninja Master Blade suddenly began roaring like a chainsaw as the ninja stars on the blade began spinning viciously.

"Double Sword Doom Strike!" Ripcon shouted as he sent another energy wave towards Jirou.

"Here goes nothing!" Jirou shouted as he swung the Ninja Master Blade.

The Ninja Master Blade sliced through the energy wave causing it to fizzle away.

"Impossible!" Ripcon shouted in disbelief.

"Now it's your turn!" Jirou shouted as he ran towards Ripcon.

"Wait!" Ripcon shouted as he dropped his swords.

"No, I'm making sure you fall!" Jirou shouted as he prepared to swing the Ninja Master Blade at Ripcon.

"You won't kill me!" Ripcon shouted at Jirou.

"Oh yes I will!" Jirou shouted as he swung the sword at Ripcon.

"Then you'll have to kill your very own brother!" Ripcon shouted as he transformed into a human.

Jirou stopped his attack as the spinning blades were an inch away.

"I'm your brother," Ripcon said to Jirou.

"Seiji, impossible!" Jirou said in disbelief.

Jirou demorphed in front of his brother as Kiyomi stood back watching.

"No, you can't be my brother," Jirou said to Ripcon.

"Jirou, he is your brother," Kiyomi said as she demorphed.

"You knew?" Jirou asked Kiyomi as he turned towards her.

"That's what I was going to warn you about," Kiyomi told Jirou.

Seiji began smirking as he snuck up behind Jirou.

"I'm not the same little brother I once was!" Seiji shouted as he slashed Jirou across the back with one of his swords.

As Seiji laughed evilly, Kiyomi watched in horror as Jirou fell face first to the ground.

"Oh no!" Kiyomi shouted as she saw the deep cut across Jirou's back.

"I'm the reason why the Takayama Ninja Clan is no more!" Seiji shouted at Jirou. "After you left, no one cared about me!"

Seiji turned away from Jirou and Kiyomi and began walking away.

"I'm going to prove to them that they made a big mistake," Seiji said as he transformed back into Ripcon. "Oh, and Galvanax sends his regards!"

Ripcon teleported away leaving Kiyomi alone with Jirou in the forest.

"Jirou, hang on!" Kiyomi said to Jirou as Jirou lied on the ground unconscious.

Back at the shop, Jirou was rushed down into the base while Mason and Logan carried him. Beth, Jun and Kiyomi walked down into the base behind them and saw Mason and Logan set Jirou on a table. Hitoshi ran over with a first-aid case in his hands and quickly opened it.

"I need to seal the wound before he loses too much blood," Hitoshi said as he began digging through the case.

"Hang in there man," Logan said to Jirou as he and Logan stepped away from the table.

"What happened out there?" Jun asked Kiyomi.

"We were attacked by Ripcon," Kiyomi said to Jun.

"Ripcon did this to him?" Mason asked Kiyomi.

"Yes, but only when Jirou was distracted," Kiyomi told Mason.

"Why would Ripcon just randomly attack Jirou?" Logan wondered.

Beth looked over at Jirou in concern as Hitoshi worked on sealing the wound across his back.

"Ripcon isn't just who he appears to be," Kiyomi said to the other Rangers.

"What do you mean?" Jun said in confusion.

"He's someone who was very close to Jirou," Kiyomi said as she turned towards Jun. "He's Seiji Takayama, Jirou's younger brother,"

"No, that can't be true," Jun said in disbelief.

"That would at least explain why Ripcon works for Norio though," Beth said to everyone. "Norio is related to Jirou too,"

"Looks like Seiji was just following in his great-great grandfather's footsteps," Mason said as he leaned against the wall.

Hitoshi sighed in relief as he sat a tool down on the table.

"I got it sealed and now I just need to bandage it up," Hitoshi said to the others.

"And who are you again?" Jun asked Kiyomi.

"Princess Kiyomi Ishihara of the Ishihara Ninja Clan," Kiyomi said to Jun.

Mason began chuckling.

"What's so funny?" Beth asked Mason.

"It's just funny that she's a princess," Mason said as he smiled.

"Now's not the time for jokes," Logan said to Mason.

"Fine, I'll stop," Mason said as he rolled his eyes.

Kiyomi walked over to the Ninja Nexus Prism and gazed at it.

"It really is just like the one back home," Kiyomi said to herself.

Kiyomi pulled out the Ninja Master Mode Power Star and sat it on the desk beside her.

"I'm going to leave this Power Star for you to use," Kiyomi said to the other Rangers.

"Are you leaving already?" Beth asked Kiyomi.

"I need to return home for now," Kiyomi said to Beth. "I will return when the time comes,"

Hitoshi looked over at Kiyomi and watched her exit the base.

"How's Jirou doing?" Jun asked her father.

"He should be fine after resting for a few days," Hitoshi told Jun. "We'll need to wait on the cut to heal too,"

"How long will that take?" Logan asked Hitoshi.

"A few weeks most likely," Hitoshi said as he wiped his hands off with a rag.

"Then we'll need to take care of Ripcon when he shows his face again," Mason said as he smirked.

"I doubt Ripcon will show up again until Jirou is back out there with us," Jun told Mason. "He obviously wants to fight Jirou one on one,"

"I guess you're right," Mason said as he sighed.

"I don't care what Ripcon wants," Beth said as she clenched her fist. "I'm not going to stand by and watch Jirou get hurt by his own brother,"

"Neither am I," Logan said as he nodded.

"We're a team, we always stick together," Mason said to Jun.

"Fine, we'll help Jirou stop his brother," Jun said as she sighed.

Hitoshi looked back over at Jirou.

"Hurry up and get better, your brother will be waiting," Hitoshi said to Jirou.

On Cosmo's ship, Ripcon walked into the control room where Galvanax was sitting by himself. Ripcon snickered as he walked in front of Galvanax and crossed his arms.

"So, you've been hiding your true identity this entire time," Galvanax said to Ripcon as he rose to his feet.

"That's right," Ripcon said as he nodded. "I followed in your footsteps,"

"The next time you go down to Earth, I want you to make sure that idiotic brother of yours is no more," Galvanax said as he clenched his fist.

"Oh don't worry, I won't toy with him anymore," Ripcon said as his eyes began glowing.


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: The Final Exam

In the Ranger's base beneath the antique shop, Mason and Jun were training together while Beth was busy studying. Logan was with Hitoshi helping him duplicate the Ninja Master Mode Power Star. Hitoshi threw a throwing star made of Ninja Steel into the Ninja Nexus Prism causing the Ninja Nexus Prism to begin glowing. A glowing Power Star shot out of the Ninja Nexus Prism and hit Logan as he caught it.

"That's three done," Logan said as he sat the Power Star down next to the others.

"Just one more left to make," Hitoshi said as he picked up another throwing star.

Hitoshi threw the throwing star into the Ninja Nexus Prism as Logan prepared himself. The Power Star shot out of the Ninja Nexus Prism and landed in Logan's hands.

"And that's all," Logan said as he smirked.

"What do those things do again?" Mason asked Hitoshi as he blocked Jun's sword with his sword.

"The Ninja Master Mode Power Star transforms the user's Ninja Star Blade into a new weapon and also gives the user powerful armor," Hitoshi explained to Mason as Mason continued training.

"And since dad and Logan made four more, it means all of us can use this new power," Jun said as she knocked Mason's sword away.

Mason gasped as Jun pointed her sword at his chest.

"You just got lucky," Mason said as he chuckled.

Mason walked over towards Beth and saw that she was still studying.

"You've been reading that textbook ever since we got out of school today," Mason said as he sat down next to Beth.

"Well, I don't want to fail that big test tomorrow," Beth said as she sighed.

"You're one of the smartest people I know," Mason told Beth. "Probably right after Logan,"

"That's kind of you," Beth said as she smiled.

"If anybody will pass that test, aside from Logan, it will be you," Mason said as he patted on Beth's shoulder.

"Thanks Mason, but I want to be sure I can pass by studying," Beth said as she rose to her feet.

"Where are you going?" Mason asked Beth.

"I think I'm going to go out to the park and see if Mother Nature can help with the studying," Beth said as she walked towards the exit.

Beth left the base and came up into the backroom of the antique shop.

"Okay Beth, let's hurry and get done with this studying," Beth said as she continued to the front of the store towards the exit.

On Cosmo's ship, Cosmo and a group of Kudabots were dancing in front of the crowd on the stage while someone was playing a bagpipe. A monster resembling a tengu walked out onto the stage playing a bagpipe.

"I can't stop!" Cosmo shouted as he continued dancing while the monster played his bagpipe.

The monster suddenly stopped playing and began chuckling.

"Aye, I am Badpipes and I am the next contestant to take on the Power Rangers!" Badpipes shouted with a Scottish accent.

"Do not ever make me dance like that again!" Cosmo shouted at Badpipes.

"Oh shut your mouth," Badpipes said as he shoved Cosmo aside. "With my bagpipe, I can obtain those Rangers Power Stars with ease,"

"Then get to it before Galvanax becomes impatient," Cosmo said to Badpipes as he dusted off his jacket.

"Fine, fine, settle down you munter," Badpipes said as he walked away.

"Will Badpipes be able to stop the Rangers?" Cosmo asked the crowd as the Kudabots followed Badpipes off the stage.

The crowd began roaring as Cosmo held the microphone towards them.

"Let's get the Buzzcams ready!" Cosmo shouted as Buzzcams flew around him on the stage.

The Buzzcams flew off and left to go locate Badpipes.

In the park, Beth was sitting by herself at a picnic table reading her textbook while taking notes on a sheet of paper. A Buzzcam quietly landed on a tree branch on a nearby tree and looked over at Beth. Beth sighed in boredom as she looked away from her textbook.

"Am I trying too hard or something?" Beth asked herself.

Beth rose to her feet and stepped away from the picnic table as she stretched her arms.

"I guess I'm done for now," Beth said as she went to grab her books.

As Beth picked up her books an odd tune began playing. Beth dropped her books to the ground as her suddenly flashed. Badpipes stepped out from behind a tree playing his bagpipe. Beth turned towards Badpipes and slowly began making her way towards him. Badpipes stopped playing his bagpipe as he began snickering.

"Alright lassie, hand over your Power Star," Badpipes said to Beth as he held his hand out.

"As you wish," Beth said with a blank stare.

Beth handed the White Ninja Power Star to Badpipes.

"Now follow me before your buddies arrive," Badpipes said as he began walking away.

Badpipes began playing on his bagpipe once again causing Beth to begin following him.

A few hours later, Beth's mother was watching out the window for Beth to show up. Beth's mother sighed as she closed the blinds with a worried look on her face. She picked up her phone and dialed a number.

"Hi Hitoshi, is Beth still there?" Beth's mother asked Hitoshi over the phone.

"No, she left a few hours ago to go study for a test," Hitoshi informed Beth's mother. "Has she not came home yet?"

"She hasn't, and I'm starting to get worried," Beth's mother told Hitoshi.

"I'll tell the others to keep an eye out for her when they head home," Hitoshi said to Beth's mother.

"Thank you," Beth's mother said as she moved the phone away from her ear.

Beth's mother hung up the phone and sat down in a chair in the living room.

"Please be safe," Beth's mother pleaded as she looked over at a picture of Beth on the wall.

Down in the base underneath the antique shop, Hitoshi walked into the training room where Mason and Jun were cleaning up after finishing up. Mason looked over at Hitoshi and saw that something was troubling him.

"What's on your mind?" Mason asked Hitoshi.

"I just got a call from Beth's mother," Hitoshi said as Logan walked into the training room from the lab. "Beth is missing,"

"Logan, can you track her on her Ninja Comm?" Jun asked Logan.

"Yeah, I'll go do that now," Logan said as he turned back towards the lab.

"She usually goes to the park to be by herself," Mason told Hitoshi. "I'll go check and see if she's there,"

"Be careful," Jun said as Mason walked out the door.

"Kiyomi should be back already," Hitoshi said to Jun. "I'll contact her and tell her to meet up with Mason,"

"Hopefully we can find her soon," Jun said as her father walked back into the lab.

Out in a cave outside of the city, Badpipes was staring at the White Ninja Power Star in his hand as he snickered. Ripcon walked into the cave and saw Badpipes gazing at the Power Star. Badpipes noticed Ripcon walking towards him and stopped what he was doing.

"What're you doing here?" Badpipes asked Ripcon.

"I came for the Power Star so I could deliver it to Galvanax," Ripcon told Badpipes.

"But I still haven't gotten the others yet," Badpipes said as he hid the Power Star behind his back.

Ripcon looked behind Badpipes and saw Beth sitting on the ground with a chain locked on her ankle.

"Fine, we'll use the White Ranger as bait to obtain the other Power Stars tomorrow," Ricon said to Badpipes.

"Freaking bampot," Badpipes grumbled to himself as he turned away from Ripcon.

"What was that?" Ripcon asked Badpipes.

"I'm going to go guard the entrance," Badpipes said as he walked by Ripcon.

"Whatever," Ripcon said as he crossed his arms.

Beth slowly opened her eyes and saw Ripcon in front of her as her eyes adjusted.

"What the heck?" Beth said as she noticed her leg was chained.

Ripcon looked over his shoulder and saw that Beth was awake.

"I see that Badpipes tune wore off of you," Ripcon said to Beth.

"Where am I?" Beth asked Ripcon.

"In a cave outside of the city," Ripcon told Beth as he walked towards her.

"My Ninja Comm is gone!" Beth said in horror as she grabbed her wrist.

"I'm sure Badpipes took it from you so you couldn't contact your friends," Ripcon said as he leaned against the wall.

"What do you want with me?" Beth asked Ripcon.

"We're going to use you as bait to get the other Power Stars," Ripcon told Beth.

"That's not going to work," Beth said as she chuckled.

"If your life is on the line it will," Ripcon said as he looked over at Beth.

"Why did you become a demon?" Beth asked Ripcon.

"That's none of your concern," Ripcon said as he began walking away.

"Your brother is unconscious and has been for days because of you," Beth said in disgust.

"Good, but next time I'll make sure he never wakes up," Ripcon said as he snickered.

"You'll have to get through the others first," Beth said to Ripcon.

"Don't make me laugh," Ripcon said as he walked through the exit tunnel.

Beth began pulling on the chain trying to break it.

"I just had to leave the shop to go study by myself!" Beth cried in frustration.

Beth dropped the chain and hid her face as she began crying.

"Jirou, someone, please find me," Beth said to herself as she cried.

In the park late at night, Mason walked up a hill to a picnic table. Mason began looking around the picnic table and saw a book lying on the ground. Mason picked up the book and saw that it was a history textbook. Mason opened the book and saw Beth's name signed inside behind the cover.

"This doesn't look good," Mason said as Kiyomi silently walked up next to him.

Mason gasped in astonishment as he noticed Kiyomi next to him.

"Can you not do that next time?" Mason asked Kiyomi.

"I'm assuming that book is hers," Kiyomi said to Mason.

"Yeah, and she's nowhere to be found," Mason told Kiyomi.

Kiyomi knelt down and looked closely at the dirt.

"What're you doing?" Mason asked Kiyomi.

"Looking at the footprints in the dirt," Kiyomi said as she examined a footprint.

"Weirdo," Mason said as he sat down at the table.

"This footprint isn't human," Kiyomi pointed out to Mason.

Mason looked down at the footprint and snickered.

"Can you at least tell where they took her?" Mason asked Kiyomi.

"No, but it's at least a start," Kiyomi said as she rose to her feet.

"Well you have fun looking at footprints," Mason said as he got up. "I'm going to go find Beth,"

"I can tell you have feelings for her," Kiyomi said to Mason as he walked away.

Mason came to a halt and turned back towards Kiyomi.

"That's none of your business," Mason told Kiyomi.

"Then don't make it so obvious," Kiyomi said as she walked by Mason.

Mason groaned in frustration and began following Kiyomi down the path with Beth's textbook in hand.

The next morning, Hitoshi was talking on the phone with Beth's mother. As Hitoshi continued talking, Jirou slowly walked down the stairs in pain. Hitoshi saw Jirou beginning to fall down and quickly sat his phone down. Jirou grabbed the railing and saved himself as Hitoshi ran over to him.

"What're you doing out of bed?" Hitoshi asked Jirou.

"I'm done resting," Jirou said as he walked by Hitoshi.

"You're still injured after what happened the other day," Hitoshi told Jirou.

"I don't care," Jirou said as he slowly walked up to the counter. "I'm not going to lay around while my brother is out there possessed by a demon,"

"Jirou, you can't fight your brother in your condition," Hitoshi informed Jirou.

"That's how I know he's scared," Jirou told Hitoshi. "He attacked me from behind,"

"Ninjas hardly ever face their enemies face to face Jirou," Hitoshi said to Jirou as he picked up his phone off the counter.

"He's not a ninja anymore," Jirou said to Hitoshi.

"Your brother is the least of our worries right now," Hitoshi said as he sat down. "Beth is missing,"

"Seiji, he has to be behind this," Jirou said as he looked away.

"I have the store closed for today," Hitoshi said to Jirou. "I was going to go look around the city for a sign of Beth while the others are at school,"

"You can't go out there by yourself," Jirou said to Hitoshi.

"I'm not, Kiyomi is going with me," Hitoshi told Jirou as he began heading towards the door.

"She's still here?" Jirou said in confusion.

"Only until you're better," Hitoshi said as he opened the door. "Now stay here and rest,"

Hitoshi closed the door behind him and walked off down the street leaving Jirou by himself at the store. Jirou sighed as he walked across the room and came up to a mirror. Jirou pulled his shirt up and turned his back towards the mirror. Jirou looked over his shoulder and saw the scar from his brother's attack going across his back.

"Scars never go away, and neither does my will to fight and protect my family and friends," Jirou said as he walked away from the mirror.

At the school, Mason, Jun and Logan were sitting at their desks along with their classmates taking a test in class. The teacher quietly walked around the classroom watching the teens work. Mason sighed as he leaned back in his seat and stretched his arms.

"Is something bothering you?" Ms. Kay asked Mason.

"No ma'am, I'm good," Mason said as he went back to working on his test.

As Ms. Kay turned away, Mason looked over at an empty desk.

"Once we're done here, we'll come find you Beth," Mason said quietly to himself.

Logan sat his pencil down and sighed in relief.

"You're finished already Mr. Kester?" Ms. Kay asked Logan as she walked up to his desk.

"Yeah, it wasn't too difficult," Logan said as Ms. Kay took his test of his desk.

Logan looked over at Mason and saw him looking over at Beth's desk.

"We'll find her," Logan said to himself as he leaned back and crossed his arms in his seat.

A few hours later, Hitoshi and Kiyomi were searching the city for hints of Beth's whereabouts. As Hitoshi was talking to a man across the street, Kiyomi was sitting on a bench by herself. Hitoshi came walking back over to Kiyomi and sat down next to her.

"Did you get anything from him?" Kiyomi asked Hitoshi.

"No, nothing at all," Hitoshi said as he sighed.

"Then we need to begin searching for the monster that took her," Kiyomi said as she rose to her feet.

"How're we going to do that?" Hitoshi asked Kiyomi.

"We make them come to us," Kiyomi said as she smirked.

Kiyomi began walking away leaving Hitoshi behind. Hitoshi quickly rose to his feet and went off after Kiyomi.

"We should contact the others first!" Hitoshi shouted to Kiyomi as he chased after her.

In the Ranger's Base, Jirou slowly walked down the stairs and entered the base. Jirou leaned against the wall in pain to stay on his feet and continued towards the lab. Jirou walked into the lab and sat down in front of the computer.

"Come on Beth," Jirou said as he began typing.

Jirou brought up a satellite view of the city and began searching around for Beth.

"No voice recognitions in the city," Jirou said to himself as he hit another key. "Let's try searching for her Power Star's energy signature,"

Five blips appeared around the city causing Jirou to slam his fist down in frustration.

"Something is blocking her Power Star from being detected," Jirou said as he hit another button.

A faint signal suddenly appeared just outside of the city.

"Wait a second," Jirou said as he zoomed in on the location.

The signal instantly faded away.

"That's her Power Star's signature!" Jirou said in disbelief.

Jirou grabbed a pen and wrote down the coordinates on a small piece of paper.

"Hang on Beth, I'm coming," Jirou said as he rose to his feet.

Jirou slowly made his way out of the lab and headed back upstairs.

At the school, Jun, Mason and Logan walked out of the school as the bell rang loudly. Other students walked past them as their Ninja Comms began going off. The three teens stepped around the school and hid from the other students.

"What's going on dad?" Jun asked her father as he appeared on the screen.

"I just came by the shop to check on Jirou and he's not here," Hitoshi said to the others.

"He must be going after Ripcon," Mason said to the others.

"Then we need to stop him before it's too late," Logan said as he pressed a button on his Ninja Comm.

Blips appeared around the map of the city on Logan's Ninja Comm.

"Only five Power Stars are being picked up right now," Logan told Mason and Jun.

"That's us, Kiyomi and Jirou then," Jun said as she looked at Logan's Ninja Comm.

"There's also a very faint signal coming from outside of the city," Logan told Mason and Jun.

"And it looks like Jirou is going towards it," Mason said as he pointed at the moving blip.

"Then Jirou's not going after Ripcon!" Jun said as she smiled. "He found Beth's location!"

"Then let's hurry and get out there too," Mason said as he began walking away.

"I'll send the coordinates to Kiyomi on our way there," Logan said as he continued messing with his Ninja Comm as he followed Mason and Jun off of the school grounds.

Out in the woods near the cave Beth was being held captive in, Ripcon came walking out holding a chain and pulled Beth out behind him. Badpipes walked out of the cave chuckling as he watched Ripcon pull Beth.

"Keep moving!" Ripcon shouted at Beth as he continued walking.

"You heard him!" Badpipes said to Beth as he shoved her.

Beth fell to the ground and groaned in pain as she struggled to get up.

"We need to get to the city and trade her for the other Power Stars," Ripcon said as Beth rose to her feet.

"My friends won't give you their Power Stars," Beth said to Ripcon.

"Then I guess they wouldn't mind losing a friend," Ripcon said as he pulled the chain causing Beth to stumble forward.

"Keep moving lassie," Badpipes said to Beth as the three continued moving.

Ripcon came to a halt and looked up at the trees above him.

"What's bothering you?" Badpipes asked Ripcon.

"Someone's watching us," Ripcon said as he reached for one of his swords.

While Ripcon was staring up at the trees, something struck the chain causing it to break.

"What just happened?" Badpipes said in confusion as the chains fell off of Beth.

Ripcon fired a blast towards a tree from his hand. The blast struck the tree causing Kiyomi to appear and jump away from the tree with her Ninja Star Blade in hand.

"The Green Ranger!" Ripcon shouted as Kiyomi turned towards Ripcon.

"Beth, run!" Kiyomi shouted at Beth as she pulled out her morpher.

Beth began running away as Badpipes went to grab her.

"Do not let her escape!" Ripcon shouted at Badpipes.

"Ninja Spin!" Kiyomi shouted as she spun her Ninja Power Star on her morpher causing her to morph.

Kiyomi ran towards Ripcon and swung her sword at him. Ripcon blocked Kiyomi's sword and snickered as he held her back.

"How did you find us?" Ripcon asked Kiyomi. "We made sure no one could track down the White Ranger,"

"I guess you didn't try hard enough!" Kiyomi shouted as she shoved Ripcon back.

Kiyomi jumped back away from Ripcon as she pulled out her Ninja Blaster. Kiyomi fired a blast at Ripcon but the blast was deflected as Ripcon knocked it away with his sword.

"You're no match for me!" Ripcon shouted as he pulled out his other sword.

Ripcon ran towards Kiyomi and swung both of his swords at Kiyomi at the same time. Kiyomi rolled away from Ripcon and narrowly avoided the attack.

"Let's see how you like being dragged around!" Kiyomi shouted as she placed a Power Star on the back of her Ninja Blaster.

Kiyomi fired a laser beam from her blaster at Ripcon. The beam wrapped around Ripcon's ankle like a whip causing Ripcon to fall over as Kiyomi pulled him towards her.

"This cheap trick won't work on me!" Ripcon shouted as he sliced through the beam with his sword.

Ripcon freed himself and fired a blast at Kiyomi. The blast hit the ground in front of Kiyomi causing her to be blown back. Kiyomi crashed into a tree and fell to the ground as Ripcon began making his way towards her.

"You're about to join the Red Ranger on the sidelines," Ripcon said as his swords began glowing.

Beth was running through the woods with Badpipes chasing after her. Beth jumped over a fallen tree and continued running. Badpipes' wings suddenly spread out allowing him to begin flying towards Beth.

"You won't escape me lassie!" Badpipes shouted as he was catching up to Beth.

"I can't run much longer!" Beth said in fear as she slowly started to slow down.

Beth fell to the ground breathing heavily and struggled to get back up.

"Now I've got you!" Badpipes shouted as he came flying up.

A blast suddenly hit Badpipes and sent him crashing into a tree. Beth looked over and saw a Mega Morph Cycle pull up next to her. Mason stepped off of the Mega Morph Cycle as Jun and Logan pulled up on their cycles.

"Mason!" Beth said as she slowly rose to her feet.

"Are you okay?" Jun asked Beth as she ran over to her.

"Yeah, thanks to you guys," Beth said as she nodded.

"Great, the other Rangers have found us now!" Badpipes shouted in frustration.

Badpipes pulled out his bagpipe and went to begin playing it. Mason fired a blast at the bagpipe and knocked it out of Badpipes' hands.

"No!" Badpipes shouted as he saw the bagpipe fall to the ground damaged.

"I'm not in the mood for music," Mason said as he lowered his blaster.

"You'll pay for that blue lad!" Badpipes shouted angrily at Mason.

"I'd do it again if I could," Mason said as he began running towards Badpipes.

Badpipes pulled out a fan-like weapon and waved it causing a powerful gust of wind. Mason was caught in the wind and was blown back with ease.

"Mason, are you good?" Logan asked Mason.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Mason said as he quickly got up.

"Try and get to me now!" Badpipes shouted as he chuckled.

"We need to get my Power Star back," Beth said to Jun.

"Does he have it?" Jun asked Beth.

"Yeah, but we won't be able to get it so easily as long as he has that fan," Beth told Jun.

"Let us handle that," Logan said as he pulled out his Ninja Star Blade.

Logan placed his Ninja Element Star on his sword and spun it.

"Ninja Element Star!" Logan shouted as his sword began glowing. "Ninja Forest Attack!"

Vines flew out of Logan's sword and flew towards Badpipes.

"That's not going to happen!" Badpipes shouted as he waved his fan once more.

Badpipes blew the vines back towards Logan causing the vines to wrap around Logan.

"I can't move!" Logan shouted as he fell to the ground tangled in vines.

"We need to find a way to get up close to him," Mason said to Jun and Beth.

"Well none of our attacks can reach him and will just be thrown right back at us," Jun told Mason.

Beth suddenly gasped.

"What's wrong?" Mason asked Beth.

"I have an idea," Beth said to Mason.

"What is it?" Jun asked Beth as she was freeing Logan from the vines.

"Distract Badpipes and I'll get him from behind," Beth whispered to the others.

"What're you going to do to him?" Logan asked Beth as he got back up.

"I'll take back what's mine," Beth said as she clenched her fist.

The three Rangers turned towards Badpipes and stood in front of Beth.

"Don't get spotted," Mason whispered to Beth.

"I'm tired of waiting!" Badpipes shouted as fired a blast from flute-like nose.

The Rangers moved out of the way and avoided the blast.

"Do it now!" Mason shouted to Jun and Logan.

Jun and Logan quickly activated their Ninja Element Stars as they leapt towards Badpipes.

"Ninja Metal Attack!" Jun and Logan shouted as they sent chains from their swords flying towards Badpipes.

"Have you forgotten about my trusty fan?" Badpipes asked the Rangers as he went to wave his fan.

Beth quietly snuck up behind Badpipes and snatched her Power Star hanging from his belt.

"Hey!" Badpipes shouted as he noticed Beth. "That Power Star is mine!"

As Beth ran away from Badpipes, the chains wrapped around Badpipes trapping him.

"Impossible!" Badpipes shouted in disbelief.

Beth ran back over to the others and placed her Power Star on her morpher.

"You ready to finish this guy?" Mason asked Beth as she instantly morphed.

"Oh yeah!" Beth said as she pulled out a Ninja Master Mode Star.

Beth placed the Power Star on her Ninja Star Blade and quickly spun it.

"Ninja Master Mode!" Beth shouted as the Ninja Master Mode armor appeared on her along with her sword transforming into the Ninja Master Blade.

"Keep him still," Mason said to Jun and Logan.

"We've got him!" Logan said to Mason.

"Please, don't do this to me!" Badpipes pleaded to the Rangers.

"You got yourself into this position when you captured me!" Beth shouted as she began running towards Badpipes.

Beth activated her Ninja Master Blade causing the ninja stars in the blade to begin spinning.

"Ninja Master Final Attack!" Beth shouted as she ran up to Badpipes and sawed through him with a single swing.

Badpipes fell to the ground screaming in pain and exploded behind Beth.

"That's what you get for making me miss the test," Beth said as she powered down back to her normal mode.

"Beth, did you ever see Jirou out here?" Jun asked Beth.

"No, just you guys and Kiyomi," Beth told Jun.

"Odd, we saw his Power Star's signal heading this way," Logan said in confusion.

"Oh no!" Beth said as she realized something.

"What is it?" Mason asked beth.

"Kiyomi was fighting Ripcon when I escaped," Beth told the others. "Jirou is probably going after him!"

"We need to stop Jirou before he gets hurt again," Jun said as she began walking away.

"Who knows, Ripcon might do something worse this time," Mason said as he and the others followed Jun.

Back near the cave, Kiyomi and Ripcon were still battling each other. Kiyomi dove behind a tree to separate herself from Ripcon for a moment. Kiyomi pulled out a Power Star and placed it on her sword.

"Enough hiding!" Ripcon shouted as he stepped around the tree.

Ripcon gasped when he saw that Kiyomi was gone. A blast of flames hit Ripcon in the back causing him to roll forward.

"I've still got a few tricks up my sleeve," Kiyomi said as her sword had flames spiraling around it.

"Then I guess I have to step it up," Ripcon said as he ran towards Kiyomi.

Kiyomi swung her flaming sword at Ripcon and missed as Ripcon leaned away. Ripcon swatted Kiyomi's sword out of her hand and sent it flying towards a tree. The sword stabbed into a tree as Ripcon began striking Kiyomi repeatedly with his swords. Kiyomi fell to the ground in pain as Ripcon started laughing evilly.

"You ninjas of this generation should be ashamed of your selves," Ripcon said to Kiyomi as Kiyomi struggled to her feet.

"Go ahead and finish me then," Kiyomi said as she held her arm.

"Fine then," Ripcon said as his swords began glowing.

Ripcon raised his swords into the air as Kiyomi stood still waiting for his attack.

"I guess this is it then," Kiyomi said as she sighed.

A Ninja Star Blade suddenly struck Ripcon's right arm causing him to drop his sword. Kiyomi looked up ahead and saw Jirou standing behind Ripcon. Ripcon turned his attention towards Jirou and began snarling angrily.

"Jirou!" Kiyomi said in astonishment.

"So, you actually came out of hiding," Ripcon said as he grasped his arm in pain.

"I'm not going to let you harm anyone else," Jirou said as he pulled Kiyomi's sword out of the tree next to him.

"You're injured, you won't be able to keep up with me," Ripcon told Jirou.

"Last I checked, you're injured too," Jirou said as Ripcon grasped his arm tighter.

"Jirou, you're in no shape to fight him!" Kiyomi said to Jirou.

"I know I'm not, but I can't let him cause any more trouble," Jirou said as he tightened his grip on the sword in his hand.

"Then you actually want to kill me, your own brother," Ripcon said as he chuckled.

"You're not my brother," Jirou said as he prepared to attack.

As Jirou began to run towards Ripcon, Jirou was instantly surrounded by a smoke cloud. Ripcon swung his sword the cloud of smoke and revealed that Jirou was gone. Ripcon quickly turned around and saw that Kiyomi was also missing.

"I knew you weren't going to face me today!" Ripcon shouted angrily. "You coward!"

In the forest, the other Rangers were running towards the cave were Beth was held captive. Mason suddenly came to a halt when he heard leaves rustling. The others ran up to Mason and looked over at where he was staring.

"What is it?" Logan asked Mason.

"I heard something over there," Mason said as he began walking towards a bush.

Mason walked past the tree and saw Jirou with Kiyomi walking towards them.

"What happened to Ripcon?" Beth asked Jirou and Kiyomi.

"I got Kiyomi out of there before things got bad," Jirou told Beth.

"You shouldn't even be out here," Jun said to Jirou in frustration.

"Hey, if it wasn't for Jirou, we wouldn't have found Beth," Kiyomi said to Jun. "He sent me the coordinates of her location,"

"I'm just glad we're all okay," Logan said to the others.

"Let's just get back to the city," Beth said as she swatted at a bug flying around her. "I'm sick of mother nature,"

The Rangers headed off back to the city as the sun began setting.

The next day, Beth walked into a classroom and saw Ms. Kay sitting by herself at her desk. Beth walked up to Ms. Kay's desk and waited for her to respond.

"I'm surprised you weren't her yesterday," Ms. Kay said to Beth. "You missed one of the most important tests of the year,"

"Yes, I know," Beth said to Ms. Kay. "Can I please have a chance to take it?"

"I don't see why not," Ms. Kay said as she handed Beth a sheet of paper.

Beth smiled and turned away from Ms. Kay. Beth saw Jirou sitting in the back of the room and gasped.

"Oh, Mr. Takayama is also here to finish his test as well," Ms. Kay said to Beth.

Beth walked over to a desk and sat down.

"Good luck," Jirou said to Beth as he worked on his test.

Beth smirked as she began working. Ms. Kay peeked over the top of the book she was reading and saw Jirou and Beth working. Ms. Kay then smirked as she hid her face behind the book.

Later that day on a rooftop in the city, a Gold Ranger looked out at the city surrounding him as he laid his sword over his shoulder.

"Soon, this city will be introduced to a new Ranger," The Gold Ranger said as the sun glistened on his suit. "Those other Rangers won't know what hit them,"

The Gold Ranger leapt off the rooftop and instantly took off to the next roof with blinding speed.


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Cloning Catastrophe

Early in the morning, Jirou was staring at himself in the mirror in front of him. Jirou turned around and saw his back in the mirror. Jirou saw the scar across his back in the mirror causing him to sigh. As Jirou grabbed his shirt off of a rack someone began knocking on the door.

"Hurry up, you're going to be late," Hitoshi said to Jirou from the other side of the door.

"I'll be out in a second," Jirou said as he put his shirt on.

Jirou opened the door and saw Hitoshi waiting on him.

"Jun is about to head to school without you," Hitoshi told Jirou as he followed Jirou towards the stairs.

"Have the sensors found anything yet?" Jirou asked Hitoshi as they headed downstairs.

"No, nothing at all," Hitoshi said as he sighed.

"That's so odd," Jirou said as he was blinded by a flash of light.

Jirou began rubbing his eyes as Jun started giggling.

"What was that?" Jirou said in confusion.

"My camera," Jun told Jirou. "I'm working on getting pictures for the yearbook,"

"Shouldn't that be done at school though?" Jirou said as he regained his vision.

"I just wanted to make sure the camera still worked," Jun said as she grabbed her bag.

"At least warn me next time," Jirou said as Jun opened the door.

"You two have fun at school!" Hitoshi shouted as Jirou and Jun left.

As Jirou and Jun walked down the street, Jirou looked over at Jun's camera.

"Why do you have to do the pictures?" Jirou asked Jun.

"Because no one else would," Jun said as she continued walking.

"The school year isn't even halfway over yet," Jirou said as they came up to a crosswalk.

"I know that, but it takes a while for the yearbooks to be made," Jun told Jirou as the two of them walked across the street.

"Then make sure you put a picture of Mason on every page," Jirou said as he chuckled. "He wouldn't be happy if you didn't,"

"Ugh, don't even bring that up," Jun said in disgust.

As Jirou and Jun continued walking a Buzzcam landed on a light post behind them. The Buzzcam aimed at the two teens and zoomed in on them.

"How many pictures have you taken so far?" Jirou asked Jun.

"Aside from that one at the shop, not a single one," Jun told Jirou.

"It'll be hard work getting all of those done then," Jirou told Jun as they turned a corner.

"Yeah, and no one else will help," Jun said as she sighed.

"I'm sure someone will help you," Jirou said to Jun.

"Why don't you help me?" Jun asked Jirou.

"Sorry, but I can't," Jirou said as he placed his hands behind his head.

"Why not?" Jun asked Jirou.

"You're asking someone who existed before cameras were a thing to help you," Jirou said as he chuckled.

"It's not hard at all," Jun explained to Jirou.

"No can do," Jirou said as he and Jun approached the school.

"Whatever," Jun said in annoyance as she walked away from Jirou.

"Have fun!" Jirou shouted to Jun as Logan walked up beside him.

"What's up with Jun?" Logan asked Jirou.

"Oh she's doing pictures for the yearbook," Jirou told Logan.

"Dang, we're taking pictures already?" Logan said in disbelief.

"That's what I said," Jirou said as he sat down on a bench with Logan.

"Hopefully she can get it done," Logan said as students walked by them.

"I'm sure she'll be fine," Jirou said as he looked over at Jun taking pictures of students.

"Has anything set off the sensors?" Logan asked Jirou.

"No, and I'm confused as to why," Jirou told Logan.

"Yeah, it's been a few weeks since we got Beth back from Badpipes," Logan said as he thought to himself. "Maybe there's something wrong with the sensors?"

"You can take a look after school," Jirou said as the bell began ringing.

"Sounds good," Logan said as he and Jirou got up and headed towards the building.

Jirou and Logan walked inside along with a crowd of students. At the front gate, a teenaged boy stepped through and headed towards the front door.

In the hallway Mason was grabbing books out of his locker. The new boy stepped around the corner and began making his way down the hall. The boy shoved another boy out of the middle of the hall causing him to slam against the lockers.

"What the hell man?" The boy said to the new student.

Mason closed his locker and saw the boy in the denim jacket ignoring the other student.

"What's your problem?" The boy said as he grabbed the new student by the shoulder.

The new student grabbed the boy's wrist and shoved him aside.

"Stay out of my way next time bub," The bully said as he continued walking.

Mason sat his books down and stepped out in the middle of the hallway.

"Hey, drop the tough guy act," Mason said to the new student.

"Step aside dunderhead," The new student said as he stopped in front of Mason.

"Dunderhead?" Mason said in confusion.

The new student chuckled and continued past Mason down the hall. Mason walked over to the other student and helped him up off the ground.

"Are you alright?" Mason asked the student.

"Yeah, but something is definitely up with that dude," The student said as he held his wrist.

"You've got that right," Mason said in concern.

Aboard the Galaxy Warriors ship, a monster was sitting at a computer in the control room typing vigorously as Ripcon stood by watching. Ripcon groaned impatiently and began making his way over to the monster.

"How much longer will this take Hacktrack?" Ripcon asked Hacktrack as he watched him work.

"It'll be done soon, I promise," Hacktrack said as he continued working.

"You better be done or I will report your failure to Galvanax," Ripcon said as he walked away.

"I was really hoping that hacking into the Power Ranger's computers would be easier," Hacktrack said as he sighed. "The sensors I hacked have already been modified to work with my plan,"

Hacktrack began chuckling as he continued typing on the keyboard.

In the restroom at the school, Jun was washing her hands at the sink. Jun looked up at her reflection in the mirror and smirked as she turned off the sink. Jun grabbed a paper towel and began drying off her hands. While drying her hands off, Jun's nose suddenly twitched causing her to sneeze.

"Goodness," Jun said as she wiped her nose with the paper towel.

Jun tossed the paper towel in the garbage and suddenly began glowing faintly. As Jun walked out of the bathroom, another Jun materialized in the restroom in front of the mirror.

"What the heck?" The new Jun said in confusion as she looked at the mirror.

Jun noticed she didn't have a reflection and placed her hand on the mirror.

"What's wrong with me?" Jun asked herself.

A few minutes later, Jirou stepped out into the hallway from his classroom and began making his way down the hall. As Jirou turned a corner, he noticed Jun standing at her locker. Jirou rubbed his eyes and looked back at Jun.

"Didn't she just return to the classroom?" Jirou said in confusion.

Jirou slowly approached Jun cautiously. Jun closed her locker and saw Jirou coming at her.

"Are you okay?" Jun asked Jirou.

"When did you leave the classroom?" Jirou asked Jun. "You were in there when I left a second ago,"

"Huh, I guess you were seeing things," Jun said as she walked past Jirou.

"Where are you going?" Jirou asked Jun.

"I still need to get some pictures done," Jun said as she held her camera in her hand.

"In the middle of class?" Jirou said as Jun turned the corner.

Jirou threw his arms up in annoyance as he sighed.

"I need to sleep more," Jirou said to himself.

Jirou came up to his classroom and opened the door. As Jirou walked in Jun was sitting in the back and dropped her pen. Jun leaned down to grab her pen as Jirou looked over towards her desk in the back.

"She really was in the hall," Jirou whispered to himself as he didn't see Jun.

Jirou sat down and looked out the window as Jun leaned back up. Beth noticed something was troubling Jirou and tapped on his shoulder.

"Are you okay?" Beth asked Jirou.

"Yeah, it's nothing," Jirou said as he turned towards Beth.

Jirou looked over and saw Jun working at her desk and gasped.

"What?" Beth asked Jirou.

"When did she come back?" Jirou asked Beth.

"She never left since you did," Beth told Jirou.

"But I saw her in the hall at her locker," Jirou said to Beth.

"Are you sick or something?" Beth asked Jirou.

"I'm being serious," Jirou assured Beth.

The bell began ringing causing Jirou to become startled.

"You need to tell Jun about this," Beth told Jirou as she rose from her desk and grabbed her belongings.

"Agreed," Jirou said as he got up.

Jirou walked over to Jun as she was gathering up her books.

"Did you leave class again?" Jirou asked Jun.

"No, I haven't moved since I came back from the restroom," Jun told Jirou.

"Then who was at your locker when I wasn't in here?" Jirou asked Jun.

Jun began laughing as she made her way to the door.

"I'm not joking!" Jirou told Jun as he followed her out into the hallway.

"Look, I am the only me," Jun said to Jirou as they walked down the hall.

"Hey Jun, I hope those pictures you got of me turn out good," A girl said to Jun as she walked by.

Jun came to halt with a look of confusion on her face.

"I haven't taken any pictures of the cheerleaders yet," Jun said to Jirou.

"Now do you think I'm crazy?" Jirou asked Jun.

Jun turned the corner and walked over to her locker. Jun quickly unlocked her locker and opened it.

"My camera is gone!" Jun said in astonishment.

"Yeah, the other you had it," Jirou told Jun.

"This has to be Norio and his freaks behind this," Jun said to Jirou.

"It might be," Jirou said as Jun slammed her locker.

"Ms. Takayama, I thought you were taking photos in the library?" A man asked Jun as he walked up.

"Oh Principal Danielson!" Jun said as she turned around. "I was just about to head that way,"

"Good, I want our yearbooks to be phenomenal this year," Principal Danielson said as he smirked.

"Same here Mr. Danielson," Jirou said as Principal Danielson began walking away.

"Let's get to the library real quick," Jun said to Jirou.

"Yeah lunch can wait," Jirou said as Jun began walking away.

Inside of the Ranger's Base, Hitoshi was sitting at the computer trying to solve the problem with the sensors around the city. Hitoshi slammed his fist down on the desk in frustration as he failed to find a problem.

"It's like someone locked me out from accessing them," Hitoshi said to himself.

Hitoshi rose from his seat and began walking away from the computer when a warning suddenly appeared on the screen. As the alarm began going off, Hitoshi turned back towards the computer.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Hitoshi said in disbelief as he hurried back over to the computer.

Hitoshi quickly sat down and began typing viciously.

"Someone is trying to hack our computers!" Hitoshi said to himself as he continued typing.

The alarm suddenly stopped causing Hitoshi to sigh in relief.

"I need to do something before that happens again," Hitoshi said as he went back to work on the security system.

Back at the school, Jirou and Jun were standing outside of the library about to head in. Jirou looked through the window on the door and saw multiple students reading and studying. Jirou turned back towards Jun and sighed.

"I don't see you in there," Jirou told Jun.

"Then let's go in there and find me," Jun said as she reached for the door handle.

Jirou grabbed Jun's wrist and stopped her from opening the door.

"No, you stay out here," Jirou said to Jun. "We can't let people see two of you in there,"

"Fine, but make it fast," Jun said as she stepped aside.

Jirou opened the door and headed into the library leaving Jun in the hallway. Jirou walked past the counter where the librarian was sitting working on her computer.

"Where are you?" Jirou said quietly to himself as he walked by a table where multiple students were sitting.

One of the students at the table lowered down their book and revealed that they were Jun.

"What's he doing in here?" Jun wondered as she closed the book and set it aside.

Jirou turned around and gasped loudly when he saw Jun standing behind him.

"Don't sneak up on me like that," Jirou said to Jun.

"What do you want?" Jun asked Jirou.

"I was wondering if you'd like to get some shots of me and the others out in the hall for the yearbook," Jirou said to Jun.

"Sure, but we better hurry before next period starts," Jun said to Jirou.

"Then let's get going," Jirou said as he grabbed Jun by the wrist and began dragging her to the exit.

"Jirou, I know where the exit is!" Jun said as she pulled her arm away from Jirou.

Jirou and Jun stepped out into the hallway and quietly closed the door.

"Where are the others?" Jun said in confusion.

"Right here," The original Jun said as she stepped out from around the corner.

"What the heck?" Jun said as she began backing away from the other Jun.

"Start talking fake me," Jun said to her other self.

"I'm not the fake one!" The other Jun said to her other self.

"Look, you two better figure out what's going on here before someone catches us," Jirou said to the two girls.

"Jirou, I'm the real Jun," The Jun with the camera hanging from her neck told Jirou.

"You know that's not true," Jun said as she crossed her arms.

The lights suddenly began flickering catching Jirou's attention.

"What's going on now?" Jirou said in confusion as he looked up at the lights.

Alarms in the school started going off startling the three teens as they stood in the hallway.

"Did you have something to do with this?" Jun asked her other self.

"No, I don't know what's happening," The other Jun said as people began walking out of the library.

Jirou and Jun pushed the other Jun against the wall and stood in front of her to hide her.

"Do not get spotted," Jirou said to the other Jun as students walked by.

"Make your way outside, the fire alarm is going off," The librarian told Jirou and Jun as she walked by them.

"Fire?" Jirou wondered as the other Jun looked over his shoulder.

"I don't think there's a fire," The other Jun said as she noticed the computers in the library glitching.

"Then what could it be?" Jun said in confusion as her and Jirou's Ninja Comms began going off.

"Hitoshi, do you know what's going on?" Jirou asked Hitoshi as he held his Ninja Comm up towards his mouth.

"Is the hacking occurring at the school too?" Hitoshi asked Jirou.

"Is someone hacking electronics in the city?" Jun asked her father.

"It appears so," Hitoshi said as his voice began cutting out.

"Dad?" Jun said in confusion.

"Whoever is causing this must have gotten into the computers at the shop," Jirou said to both the Jun's.

"Then we need to find this creep and stop him before he finds out where our base is," Jun said to Jirou.

"Other Jun, you go find the others and tell them to meet us outside of the stadium in the city," Jirou said to the other Jun.

"You're really going to trust her?" Jun asked Jirou.

"We don't have time to discuss this," Jirou said as he began walking away.

Jun groaned in frustration as she turned towards her other self.

"You better not backstab us," Jun said to her other self.

"Don't worry, I'll go get them!" The other Jun said as she ran off down the hall.

Outside of the stadium in the city, Jirou and Jun ran up to where one of their sensors is hidden. Jun ran over to a tree and grabbed a small device that was hidden on a branch. Jirou caught up to Jun and saw her examining the sensor.

"I can't tell if something is wrong with it," Jun said as she handed the sensor to Jirou.

"Maybe it was fried?" Jirou guessed.

"It doesn't look like it was," Jun said as the sensor began glowing in Jirou's hand.

Jirou tossed the sensor away as Hacktrack emerged from the sensor glowing blue.

"Darn it, I was so close to finding the Ranger's base that time!" Hacktrack shouted as Jirou and Jun stood behind him.

Hacktrack slowly turned around and saw Jirou and Jun staring at him.

"Looks like we found the hacker," Jirou said as he smirked.

"How did you find me?" Hacktrack asked Jirou and Jun.

"Let's just say that you went a little overboard with your hacking," Jun said as she prepared to fight.

Jirou and Jun pulled out their morphers and placed their Ninja Power Stars on them.

"It's Morphin Time!" Jirou and Jun shouted. "Ninja Spin!"

As the morphers were activated Jirou morphed while Jun was standing next to him.

"How come I didn't morph?" Jun said in confusion.

"It looks like you're having a little bit of trouble with your morpher," Hacktrack said to Jun as he snickered.

"Maybe the other you had something to do with this," Jirou said to Jun as he pulled out his Ninja Star Blade.

"You're probably right," Jun said as she nodded.

"I'll take this guy on until the others arrive then," Jirou said as he ran off towards Hacktrack.

"Kudabots back me up here!" Hacktrack shouted as a group of Kudabots appeared in front of him.

Jirou ran into the group of Kudabots and began slashing them down one after another as Jun watched from afar.

"Come on!" Jun shouted in frustration as she tried to morph again.

"I think these bots need an upgrade," Jirou said as he stabbed a Kudabot and quickly kicked it aside.

Lightning blasts began hitting Jirou causing him to fall to the ground in pain. Jirou slowly looked up and saw Hacktrack holding an antenna like weapon in his hand. Hacktrack began snickering as he lowered his weapon.

"You look a little shocked," Hacktrack said to Jirou.

"I'm not in the mood for puns," Jirou said as he rose back to his feet.

Jirou ran back towards Hacktrack and swung his sword at him. Hacktrack blocked Jirou's sword with his weapon and quickly stepped aside causing Jirou to stumble forward.

"Not bad for a guy who sits behind a computer every day," Jirou said as he turned back towards Hacktrack.

Jirou placed his Ninja Element Star on his sword and changed it to Water Mode.

"Ninja Water Attack!" Jirou shouted as he spun the Element Star causing his sword to become surrounded with water.

Jirou ran up in front of Hacktrack and quickly swung his sword at him. Hacktrack narrowly evaded the sword as he stepped back. Some of the water from Jirou's sword splashed onto Hacktrack causing him to begin panicking.

"No, I can't get wet!" Hacktrack shouted in horror.

"Looks like I was right," Jirou said as he leaned his sword against his shoulder. "You can't get wet,"

"I'm going to fry you alive," Hacktrack said as his weapon began glowing.

Lightning blasts fired from Hacktrack's weapon and they flew towards Jirou. Jirou rolled aside and avoided the blasts causing them to hit a light post behind him.

"That was a close one," Jirou said in relief as he rose back to his feet.

The ground suddenly began shaking causing lightning bolts to shoot out of the ground and strike Jirou.

"Jirou!" Jun shouted in concern as she saw Jirou fall to the ground with smoke coming off his body.

"Now to obtain that Power Star of yours," Hacktrack said as he began approaching Jirou.

"Come on you stupid morpher!" Jun said in frustration as she tried to morph again.

Jun looked back over and saw Hacktrack standing above Jirou.

"I need to do something," Jun said as she began walking towards Hacktrack.

As Hacktrack went to grab the Power Star off of Jirou's belt, blasts began hitting the ground around Hacktrack causing him to move away from Jirou.

"Who did that?" Hacktrack said in confusion.

Logan, Mason and Beth pulled up on their Mega Morph Cycles with the other Jun riding with Beth.

"Whoa, why is there another Jun here?" Logan said in confusion.

"That's not important right now," Jun said to Logan.

"Yeah, let's take care of this freak first," Mason said as he stepped off his Mega Morph Cycle.

Jirou rose up and saw the other Rangers going after Hacktrack. Hacktrack blocked each of the Ranger's attacks from their swords with his weapon as Jirou rose to his feet.

"We need to get that weapon away from him!" Jirou told the others.

"Not a problem," Mason said as he swung his sword at Hacktrack again.

Hacktrack jumped back and avoided the sword. Hacktrack landed next to a car and aimed his weapon at it.

"This looks like a fun toy," Hacktrack said as he sent electricity into the car from his weapon.

The car started and instantly hit the gas and headed towards Mason.

"Did he just start a car?" Beth said in confusion.

Mason jumped over the car and safely landed on the ground. The car continued going and was heading towards Logan and Beth.

"Move!" Logan shouted as he and Beth jumped out of the way.

The car crashed into a light post knocking it over. The car then stopped as Hacktrack laughed evilly.

"Get him away from electronics," Logan said to the others as he jumped back on his Mega Morph Cycle.

"Yeah, we can't let him do that with another car," Beth said as Logan drove off towards Hacktrack.

Logan began firing blasts from the Mega Morph Cycle and nailed Hacktrack causing him to fall back to the ground.

"Do you think we can help?" The other Jun asked Jun next to her.

"I don't think so," Jun said as she looked down at her morpher. "My morpher won't work for some reason,"

"Is it because of me?" The other Jun asked Jun.

"Probably, but I'm not sure," Jun told the other Jun.

Logan pulled up next to Hacktrack and stepped off his cycle. Logan went to grab Hacktrack's weapon but was electrocuted as a lightning burst shot out of the ground.

"Logan!" Mason shouted as he watched Logan fall to the ground.

"Now that was electrifying!" Hacktrack said as he rose back to his feet.

"That was the same thing he did to me," Jirou said as Beth walked up beside him.

"He's using the cables underground," Mason said to the others.

Jun suddenly gasped when she realized something.

"That's it!" Jun said as she smirked.

"What?" The other Jun said in confusion.

"First we need to figure out how to become one again," Jun said to her clone.

"Try concentrating!" Mason shouted as he blocked Hacktrack's weapon as it was swung at him.

"Would that work?" Jun wondered.

"It's what I did to get the hang of my magic powers!" Mason shouted as he rolled away from Hacktrack.

"Mason's right, what if this is our power like how his magic was to him?" The other Jun asked Jun.

"Alright, let's give it a try," Jun said as she held her hands out to her clone.

The other Jun grabbed Jun's hands as the two of them closed their eyes.

"Come on," Jirou said as he grabbed Logan and picked him up over his shoulder as Beth and Mason were battling Hacktrack.

Jirou looked over at Jun and her clone. Both of them began glowing as they stood motionless with their eyes closed.

"It's working!" Jirou said in disbelief.

Jirou sat Logan down against a wall and ran off back towards Hacktrack. Jun became one again as the light faded. Jun opened her eyes and was relieved when she saw that her clone was gone.

"Now for the plan," Jun said as she pulled her morpher back out. "Ninja Spin!"

As Jun ran towards Hacktrack and the others, she instantly morphed and pulled out her Ninja Star Blade.

"Ninja Element Star!" Jun shouted as she pulled out the Power Star.

Hacktrack struck Beth and Mason with his weapon and knocked them away.

"Who's next?" Hacktrack said as he saw Jun running towards him.

Jun stopped in her tracks as she placed her Ninja Element Star on her Ninja Star Blade.

"Jirou, give me a hand!" Jun shouted to Jirou.

"Sure thing!" Jirou said as he placed his Ninja Element Star on his sword.

As Hacktrack began running towards Jun, Jun spun the Element Star on her sword.

"Ninja Earth Attack!" Jun shouted as she stabbed the ground with her sword.

A large hole appeared in front of Hacktrack as he took a step forward causing him to fall down into it.

"That's the oldest trick in the book!" Hacktrack shouted as he continued falling.

A tower of flames suddenly shot out of the hole as Mason and Beth rose back to their feet. Hacktrack shot out of the hole charred from the flames. Jun leapt into the air towards Hacktrack as her sword began glowing pink.

"Pink Ninja Strike!" Jun shouted as she struck Hacktrack with a powerful slash causing him to explode in midair.

Jun landed back on the ground as Jirou leapt out of the hole and landed next to her.

"Ugh, why do I feel so numb?" Logan said in confusion as he regained consciousness.

"I'm shocked that you're still with us," Mason said to Logan as he helped him up.

"Very funny," Logan said as Mason chuckled at him.

"I'm just glad we only have one Jun to deal with again," Jirou said as he placed his arm on Jun's shoulders.

A blast fired down from the sky and struck the remains of Hacktrack causing them to reform. Hacktrack's reformed body suddenly began growing as the Ranger's watched in awe.

"Looks like I've been updated to the next level!" Hacktrack shouted as he towered above skyscrapers near him.

"It's Megazord time!" Jirou shouted as he placed his Zord Star on his sword.

The Rangers quickly summoned their Zords and formed the Megazord. The Megazord landed in front of Hacktrack as Hacktrack struck building next to him with his weapon.

"That's enough!" Jirou shouted as the Megazord walked up and struck Hacktrack with its sword.

Hacktrack retaliated by hitting the Megazord with a lightning blast from his weapon.

"Whoa!" Logan shouted as he noticed the lights inside the Megazord began dimming.

"What just happened?" Jun said in confusion.

"I think he just drained some of our power." Logan said to the others.

"Then we need to avoid being hit by those blasts," Jirou said as the Megazord began approaching Hacktrack again.

"Here comes another!" Mason shouted as Hacktrack fired another blast at them.

The Megazord leaned to the side and avoided the blast as Hacktrack started running towards it. Hacktrack struck the Megazord with a kick causing it to stumble backwards.

"Now to try something else!" Hacktrack shouted as his eyes began glowing.

"What's going on?" Jirou said as the lights began dimming again.

"The controls are locked!" Beth said as she tried to move the Megazord's leg.

"We're a sitting duck now," Logan said as Hacktrack laughed evilly.

"This is it for you Rangers," Hacktrack said as he slowly approached the Megazord.

"Summon the Rumble Tusk Zord!" Beth said to Jirou.

"I'm on it!" Jirou said as he pulled out the Rumble Tusk Zord Star.

As Jirou went to place the Rumble Tusk Zord Star on his sword, blasts began striking Hacktrack causing him to become distracted.

"What is that?" Jun said in confusion as a UFO-like Zord flew by overhead.

"Another Zord?" Mason said as the Zord began firing at Hacktrack again.

"Knock it off!" Hacktrack shouted in annoyance as he swatted at the Zord with his weapon.

"Sorry I'm late," Kiyomi said to the others from the new Zord.

"Kiyomi, where did you get that Zord from?" Jirou asked Kiyomi.

"This is the Astro Zord," Kiyomi told Jirou. "It just became available today,"

"Talk about lucky!" Logan said in excitement.

The Astro Zord hovered down towards a building and transformed into its humanoid form resembling an astronaut.

"Hey Kiyomi, how about we put that Astro Zord to the test?" Jirou asked Kiyomi.

"You've got it," Kiyomi said as she spun the Astro Zord Star on her sword. "Activate Astro Ninja Steel Megazord Formation!"

The Robo Red Zord leapt out of the compartment on the front of the Megazord and replaced the Nitro Zord arm as the Megazord's right arm. The Astro Ninja Zord sat down in the compartment as an Astro Zord Star attached on top of the Megazord as its head.

"Astro Ninja Steel Megazord ready!" The Rangers shouted as Kiyomi appeared in the cockpit next to them.

"Controls are back!" Jun shouted as the Megazord dashed towards Hacktrack.

"This can't be happening!" Hacktrack shouted in disbelief.

"Astro Launcher!" Kiyomi shouted as the Megazord struck Hacktrack with its blaster.

Hacktrack stumbled backwards as the Megazord took aim at Hacktrack with the Astro Launcher.

"Cosmic Blast!" The Rangers shouted as the Megazord began charging a blast.

"I was so close to fulfilling my duties!" Hacktrack shouted in horror.

"Fire!" The Rangers shouted as the Astro Launcher fired three blasts resembling Ninja Stars at Hacktrack.

The blasts hit Hacktrack causing him to explode instantly.

"And that's a wrap!" Jirou shouted as the Megazord turned away from where Hacktrack was destroyed.

Back at the Rangers Base, Logan was gazing at the Astro Zord Star in his hand. Jirou took the Zord Star from Logan and walked over towards Hitoshi and Kiyomi.

"So Kiyomi, how many more of these Zord Stars are you hiding from us?" Jirou asked Kiyomi.

"That was the only other one," Kiyomi told Jirou as she took the Star from him.

"Still, it is pretty awesome to have a spaceship as a Zord now," Logan said as he sat down.

"Yeah, that's something I wouldn't think Ninja Rangers would have access to," Mason said to the others.

"So, how's Jun doing?" Beth asked Hitoshi.

"She's doing fine," Hitoshi told Beth. "She was training in the other room when I came down,"

"Really?" Logan said in confusion. "She was doing homework upstairs when I came in,"

"I thought she went to the football game at the high school for yearbook photos?" Jirou said to the others.

Everyone walked over to the door and opened it.

"Jun!" Everyone shouted at her at once causing her to freeze in horror.

"What?" Jun said as she turned towards them. "I have too many things to do right now by myself,"

An alarm suddenly began going off back in the other room. Hitoshi turned around and ran over to the computer. Hitoshi brought up the camera feed and revealed a Gold Ranger attacking the city.

"The time has come Rangers!" The Gold Ranger shouted as he fired blasts from his weapon at the buildings around him.

"Wait a second, isn't that the same color as the sixth Ninja Power Star was?" Jirou asked the others.

"Well, we know where it ended up now," Mason said to the others.

"Now the question is who that is?" Kiyomi wondered.

"I have no clue, but he shouldn't be attacking innocent people with those powers," Jirou said as he clenched his fist.


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Dorado Bay's True Hero

Inside of the Antique Shop, Beth was hanging up Christmas decorations around the store while Hitoshi was helping a customer at the front desk. As Beth hung a wreath on the front door Jirou came walking up with a box in his hands.

"Here's all the tinsel," Jirou said as he sat the box on a table next to Beth.

"Good, let's start hanging it up," Beth said as Jun walked inside.

"The lights are all hung up outside," Jun said as she sat an empty box down on the table.

"I hope your mother enjoys that jewelry box Ms. Kitchens," Hitoshi said as he waved goodbye to the customer.

Ms. Kitchens walked by the teens and left the store. Hitoshi sighed in relief and stepped out from behind the counter.

"Once you guys get done in here you need to get the tree set up next," Hitoshi told the teens.

"Will do dad," Jun said as she helped Jirou hang silver tinsel on the wall.

"I'm going to head downstairs and see if anything has come up yet," Hitoshi said as he walked out of the room.

"I wonder how Mason, Kiyomi and Logan are doing out there," Jirou said as he stepped off the stepladder.

"No clue, but I hope they locate that Gold Ranger," Beth said as she handed Jirou a roll of gold tinsel.

"Yeah, hopefully soon too," Jirou said as he looked down at the gold tinsel.

Out on a rooftop of a building in the city, Mason was staring off into the distance with binoculars scoping out the area. Logan walked up behind Mason in his ninja gear and pulled his mask off. Mason looked over his shoulder and saw Logan sit down against a ventilation duct.

"Anything?" Mason asked Logan as he lowered the binoculars.

"No, nothing at all," Logan said as he breathed heavily.

"We've been looking for this jerk for days!" Mason said in frustration as he tossed the binoculars aside.

"Settle down," Logan said to Mason. "Even if we never find him, he'll show up again,"

"For all we know he's been right under our noses this whole time," Mason told Logan as he sat down next to him.

"Hey, at least we're not decorating the shop like the others," Logan said to Mason.

"To be honest, I'd rather be doing that than this," Mason said to Logan.

"Then go back," Kiyomi said as she walked up.

"Did you find anything?" Mason asked Kiyomi.

"No, just rumors of sightings again," Kiyomi said as she sighed.

"Let's head to the spots of those rumors then," Logan said as he rose to his feet. "They might end up being true,"

"Alright, let's get going," Mason said as he grabbed the binoculars.

"Hey!" Logan shouted at Mason and Kiyomi as they walked away. "I need to change first!"

On board the Galaxy Warriors ship, Galvanax was standing before Ripcon, Madame Odius and Cosmo Royale. Galvanax stepped in front of Ripcon and stared him in the eyes.

"Where did this Gold Ranger come from?" Galvanax asked Ripcon.

"I have no clue," Ripcon said as he shrugged his shoulders. "I was surprised just as much as you,"

"Odius, do you know anything about this?" Galvanax asked Madame Odius.

"No sir, if I did I would've informed you of it first," Madame Odius told Galvanax.

"You know I couldn't have done anything," Cosmo said to Galvanax as he took his hat off. "I haven't left this ship since I freed you,"

"One of you is lying and I will find out which one it is," Galvanax assured the three villains. "Once I do, you will be torn apart limb by limb,"

"I will begin questioning the contestants to see if they know anything," Cosmo said as he walked out of the room.

"Ripcon, go down to Earth and find this Gold Ranger," Galvanax ordered Ripcon.

"I will notify you immediately if I find anything," Ripcon said as he bowed to Galvanax.

Ripcon walked away and left Madame Odius with Galvanax.

"Shall I do anything for you about this problem?" Madame Odius asked Galvanax.

"No, at least not until Ripcon returns," Galvanax said as he sat down in his seat.

"Then I will return to working on those upgraded Kudabots for you sir," Madame Odius said as she walked away.

Back at the Antique Shop, Jirou and Jun were putting ornaments on the Christmas tree while Beth was untangling the lights. Beth groaned in frustration as she struggled to untangle the lights causing Jun and Jirou to begin laughing.

"Are you sure you can do that on your own?" Jirou asked Beth.

"I'm fine thank you," Beth said as she tried to stay calm.

"Geez, someone's not in the Christmas spirit," Jun said as she hung a green ornament on the tree.

"How do you think the others are doing?" Jirou asked the girls.

"Probably not good since we haven't heard from them," Beth said as she plugged the lights up to see if they worked.

The lights lit up causing Beth to gasp in amazement.

"They're so beautiful!" Beth said as she handed the lights to Jun.

"Now to put them on the tree," Jun said as she began wrapping the lights around the tree.

As Jun continued putting the lights on the tree, Hitoshi came into the room.

"Guys, you need to see this downstairs," Hitoshi told the teens.

"Is it the Gold Ranger?" Jirou asked Hitoshi.

"Yeah, and he's on TV," Hitoshi said to Jirou.

Jirou and the others followed Hitoshi downstairs to their base and quickly made their way into the lab. Jirou looked at the monitor and saw a video paused featuring the Gold Ranger.

"Listen to this," Hitoshi said as he started the video.

"Citizens of Dorado Bay, I am the Gold Ranger and I'm here to save this city," The Gold Ranger said to the camera. "This city has been tainted by destruction caused by the other Power Rangers and the countless monsters they battle,"

"Tainted?" Jun said in confusion.

"I'm on here to tell yal that I will cleanse this city without causing any major damages," The Gold Ranger said to the camera. "This golden city will now be protected by a golden hero,"

"Where's the broadcast coming from?" Beth asked Hitoshi.

"Odd," Hitoshi said as he continued typing.

"What?" Jun asked her father.

"It's coming from the high school," Hitoshi said as he turned around in his chair.

"He's using the equipment in the weekly newsroom," Beth told Jirou and Jun.

"Let's get to the school before he gets away again," Jirou said as he began walking towards the door.

Inside of the school, the Gold Ranger was leaning back in a seat with his feet propped up on the desk in front of him. The door suddenly opened causing the Gold Ranger to look over. Ms. Kay stepped into the room and stood on the opposite side of the desk.

"Mr. Reynold, you know you shouldn't be here unless you have weekend detention," Ms. Kay said to the Gold Ranger.

The Gold Ranger lowered his feet and rose from his seat.

"No one is here but us," The Gold Ranger said to Ms. Kay. "You don't have to disguise yourself right now,"

Ms. Kay's eyes suddenly began glowing as the Gold Ranger snickered. Ms. Kay instantly transformed into Madame Odius as a dark aura surrounded her.

"The Rangers could be here at any second now," Madame Odius told the Gold Ranger.

"Good, let them find me," The Gold Ranger said as he turned away. "I'll rip them apart without breaking a sweat,"

"You do that then," Madame Odius said as she began walking towards the door. "They won't fight you,"

"Exactly, they'll only try to talk me out of fighting," The Gold Ranger said as he nodded.

"Don't let them get to your head," Madame Odius said as she walked away.

"Trust me, they won't," The Gold Ranger said as he sat back down.

Jirou, Beth and Jun ran up to the high school already morphed and saw Mason and the others waiting for them. Jirou began approaching the door and was stopped by Mason as Mason grabbed his arm.

"We don't know what this guy is capable of," Mason told Jirou.

"I know, but fighting him won't solve anything," Jirou said to Mason.

"Talking won't either," Kiyomi said to Jirou as she walked up behind him. "This Gold Ranger seems certain that he can stop the six of us,"

"We'll try talking first, but if it fails, we'll make things physical," Jirou said as he went to grab the door.

"Hold it right there!" Someone shouted to the Rangers.

Jirou turned around and saw Ripcon approaching him and the others.

"Seiji," Jirou said as he stepped away from the door.

"I don't go by that name anymore," Ripcon said as he pulled out his swords.

"We're not here to fight you," Beth said to Ripcon.

"I'm not here to fight you either, but if you get in my way, I will make sure you move aside," Ripcon said as the sun reflected off of the blades on his swords.

"He must be after the Gold Ranger too," Jun whispered to Jirou.

"Sorry, but we're not letting you get to the Gold Ranger," Jirou said as he pulled out his Ninja Star Blade.

"Then I'll just do his job for him!" Ripcon shouted as he quickly swung his swords and sent energy slashes flying towards the Rangers.

The six Rangers quickly rolled aside and evaded the energy slashes causing them to hit the building.

"It is time for the debut of our new foot soldiers!" Ripcon shouted as a group of modified Kudabots appeared around him holding a club-like weapon.

"Those aren't normal Kudabots," Logan said to the others.

"Basher Bots, attack!" Ripcon shouted as he pointed one of his swords at the Rangers.

The Basher Bots began running towards the Rangers with their weapons ready to go.

"We don't know what these things are capable of!" Mason shouted as he ducked while running past a Basher Bot as it swung at him.

"Just destroy them like we do to the others!" Logan shouted as he struck one of the Basher Bots with his sword.

The Basher Bot was unfazed by the attack and retaliated by striking Logan with its weapon. Logan fell back to the ground and quickly got back up in shock.

"These things are no joke!" Logan said in disbelief.

Ripcon ran towards Jirou and tackled him away from the others. Ripcon and Jirou quickly got back to their feet and clashed as they swung their swords.

"We still have a score to settle!" Jirou shouted at Ripcon.

"That we do, but I have more important matters to attend to!" Ripcon shouted as he shoved Jirou back.

Jirou back flipped and dodged Ripcon's sword as he attacked him.

"As do I!" Jirou shouted as he pulled out his Ninja Blaster and fired at Ripcon as he landed on his feet.

Ripcon was hit by the blasts and stumbled back away from Jirou.

"I should've killed you when I had the chance!" Ripcon shouted in frustration.

"You'll have to try harder this time," Jirou said as he placed his Element Star on his sword.

"Double Sword, Doom Strike!" Ripcon shouted as his swords began glowing.

Ripcon swung his swords causing four energy waves to combine and sent them flying towards Jirou.

"This is it for you!" Ripcon shouted at Jirou.

As Jirou went to spin the Element Star on his sword, a large tornado came spinning down the road towards the Rangers.

"What on Earth!" Ripcon shouted in astonishment.

"Where did that come from?" Kiyomi said in confusion as she blocked a Basher Bots weapon.

The tornado approached the Rangers and began sucking up the Basher Bots around them.

"Hold onto something!" Mason shouted as he grabbed a parking sign.

Beth and Jun grabbed onto the handrail next to them and watched the remaining Basher Bots get sucked up into the tornado.

"Who is responsible for this?" Ripcon said as someone began playing a guitar.

Ripcon looked over and saw the Gold Ranger sitting on the high school's sign strumming his guitar.

"It's him!" Jun said to Beth.

Jirou saw the Gold Ranger stop playing his guitar and hop off of the sign.

"Ripcon, let's settle this with a duel," The Gold Ranger said as he leaned his guitar over his shoulder.

"A duel?" Ripcon said in confusion.

"Do you accept my challenge partner?" The Gold Ranger asked Ripcon.

Mason gasped as the Gold Ranger slowly made his way towards Ripcon.

"Fine, I'll destroy you right now," Ripcon said to the Gold Ranger.

"Then turn around and take ten paces forward," The Gold Ranger said to Ripcon.

"Ugh, whatever," Ripcon said as he turned away.

As Ripcon went to take his first step, the Gold Ranger placed his hand on a handle on the side of his guitar.

"Nine and ten," Ripcon said as he took his last two steps.

As Ripcon turned around he was hit by multiple blasts fired at him by the Gold Ranger.

"I don't take too kindly to scum like you," The Gold Ranger said as Ripcon grasped his chest in pain.

"You tricked me!" Ripcon shouted in astonishment.

The Gold Ranger flipped a flap on his Power Star inserted in his guitar.

"Ninja Lightning Attack!" The Gold Ranger shouted as he fired a blast from his guitar.

Ripcon shielded himself from the blast with his arms. The blast flew up above Ripcon and formed a cloud above Ripcon. Lightning bolts began shooting down from the cloud and hit Ripcon multiple times.

"He has his own Element Star!" Kiyomi said as she watched Ripcon continue being hit by lightning.

The cloud faded away as Ripcon fell to one knee in pain. Jirou stood motionless astounded by what he just witnessed.

"This isn't the last you've seen of me!" Ripcon shouted at the Gold Ranger.

Ripcon teleported away leaving the Gold Ranger with the other Rangers. The Gold Ranger turned towards Jirou and began snickering.

"Now it's your turn partner," The Gold Ranger said as he pointed at Jirou.

"I'm not fighting you," Jirou said to the Gold Ranger.

"I had a feeling you'd say that," The Gold Ranger said as he chuckled.

The Gold Ranger instantly began firing blasts at Jirou only for Jirou to easily dodge the blasts.

"Your aim is off," Jirou said as the Gold Ranger instantly appeared in front of him.

"How did he get there so fast?" Mason said in disbelief.

The Gold Ranger struck Jirou with his guitar using it as a sword. Jirou was sent tumbling across the road and crashed into the side of a building.

"I'm cleaning this city of destruction," The Gold Ranger said to the Rangers. "You are all to blame for the amount of damage done to this city,"

"Hey, we might cause a little damage, but we make sure things don't get out of hand," Mason said to the Gold Ranger.

"Listen here dunderhead; I put the dorado in Dorado Bay!" The Gold Ranger shouted as he dashed towards Mason.

Mason gasped again as the Gold Ranger instantly appeared in front of him.

"No, it can't be!" Mason said in disbelief.

The Gold Ranger struck Mason with his guitar and sent him crashing into Logan behind him. Logan and Mason fell to the ground as the Gold Ranger turned his attention towards the girls.

"Sorry ladies, but you sealed your fate when you joined the wrong Rangers," The Gold Ranger said as he flipped the flap on his Power Star again.

"Be ready to strike," Kiyomi said as she stood before Jun and Beth with her sword ready.

"Ninja Tornado Attack!" The Gold Ranger shouted as he began to swing his guitar.

"Ninja Master Mode!" Jirou shouted as a white light filled the area.

"Jirou!" Kiyomi shouted as she shielded her eyes from the light.

"Is he okay?" Beth asked Kiyomi as she covered her eyes.

The light faded and revealed Jirou blocking the Gold Ranger's guitar with the Ninja Master Blade.

"What's this?" The Gold Ranger said in confusion.

"The power of a true Ninja Power Ranger!" Jirou shouted as he overpowered the Gold Ranger and knocked his guitar out of his hand.

Jirou pulled the ripcord on the Ninja Master Blade and caused the three ninja stars to begin spinning on his sword.

"Take this!" Jirou shouted as he struck the Gold Ranger with a powerful slash.

The Gold Ranger screamed in pain as he was sent flying from the attack with sparks flying off his chest. The Gold Ranger hit the ground and struggled to get up. The Gold Ninja Power Star rolled away from the Gold Ranger as he fell back to the ground and fainted. The Gold Ranger demorphed with his face facing away from the Rangers. Mason rose back to his feet and saw the Gold Ranger lying on the ground unmorphed. Mason noticed the denim jacket as Logan walked up beside him.

"I knew it," Mason said as he crossed his arms.

"Isn't that the new student?" Logan asked the others.

"Yeah, Ben Reynold," Jun said as Jirou went to grab the Gold Ninja Power Star.

Jirou saw a dark aura exit from inside of the Gold Ninja Power Star and hesitated to pick it up.

"What was that?" Jirou wondered as he picked up the Power Star.

A loud roar was heard causing the Rangers to look up towards the sky. A Skullgator landed in the city and began tearing into a building the instant it landed.

"A Skullgator!" Kiyomi said in horror.

"Kiyomi, stay here with Ben," Jirou said to Kiyomi as he pulled out his Zord Star.

Jirou and the others placed their Zord Stars on their swords and quickly spun them.

"Summon the Zords!" The Rangers shouted as they leapt into the air.

The Robo Red Zord revealed itself as the wall of a building rotated. Jirou landed on the shoulder of his Zord and quickly took off after the Skullgator.

"Nitro Zord, ready to go!" Logan shouted as he landed on top of his Zord.

"Same here with my Dragon Zord!" Mason shouted as the Dragon Zord flew by.

"Zoom Zord zooming by!" Jun shouted as the Kodiak Zord revealed itself riding in the back of the Zoom Zord.

"Kodiak Zord, ready for action!" Beth shouted as the Zords gathered up.

"Activate Ninja Steel Megazord Formation!" Jirou shouted as he leapt off of the Robo Red Zord.

The Nitro Zord began transforming and combined with the Zoom Zord and Kodiak Zord forming an upper body and legs. The incomplete Megazord rose to its feet and quickly combined with the remnants of the Nitro Zord and Dragon Zord to form arms. The Robo Red Zord leapt into the compartment on the front of the Megazord as a Power Star helmet attached on top of the Megazord.

"Ninja Steel Megazord, ready!" The Rangers shouted as they appeared in the cockpit.

The Skullgator noticed the Megazord and turned its attention to it. The Skullgator roared loudly and began making its way towards the Megazord.

"Let's make this a quick one," Mason said as the Skullgator swung its weapon at the Megazord.

The Megazord was hit by the attack causing it to stumble backwards.

"Agreed, we need to get Ben to safety before someone else comes after him," Jirou said as he pulled out a new Power Star.

"What's that one?" Logan asked Jirou.

"The Ninja Clone Power Star," Jirou said as he placed the Star on his sword.

"Gee, I wonder where the idea for this one came from," Jun said sarcastically as Jirou spun the Power Star.

The Megazord suddenly transformed into three Megazords and surrounded the Skullgator.

"Ninja Steel Megazord, Final Strike!" Jirou shouted as the Dragon Sword began glowing in each of the Megazords hands.

"Times three!" The other Rangers shouted as all three Megazord struck the Skullgator.

The Skullgator exploded from the attack and was easily defeated by the Rangers.

"And that's a wrap," Jirou said as the other two Megazords faded away.

On the Galaxy Warriors ship, Galvanax stormed into the control room where Ripcon and Madame Odius were waiting. Galvanax screamed in anger as he turned towards the two villains.

"You were humiliated by the Gold Ranger!" Galvanax shouted at Ripcon.

"I was fooled by him yes, but we do know I had nothing to do with him," Ripcon told Galvanax.

"For all we know, you losing to him so easily was a ruse," Madame Odius said to Ripcon.

"I would never plan something without informing Galvanax!" Ripcon shouted angrily at Madame Odius.

"Settle down!" Galvanax shouted at Ripcon and Madame Odius. "Both of you will be on watch for the next few days,"

"But, I would never betray you!" Ripcon said as he pleaded to Galvanax.

"I don't care," Galvanax said as he sat down. "One of you is a rat, and we'll find out who it truly is within a matter of days,"

"Fine, but I don't like the way she's been acting lately," Ripcon said as he stormed out of the room.

"He is definitely up to something," Madame Odius said to Galvanax.

"If he is, I'll find out," Galvanax said as a Kudabot approached Odius.

Madame Odius left the control room with the Kudabot by her side.

"You won't fool me any longer Odius," Galvanax said as he snickered.

Back at the Ranger's base, Ben was lying on a cot unconscious. Hitoshi was sitting at the computer with Logan examining Ben's Gold Ninja Power Star. Jirou noticed Ben beginning to move and leaned off the wall.

"Where am I?" Ben said in confusion as he held his head in pain.

"You're safe now," Jirou said to Ben.

"Who are you?" Ben asked Jirou.

Ben began noticing the electronics around him and quickly jumped to his feet.

"What is this place?" Ben said as he began panicking.

"Hey settle down!" Mason said as he walked into the room with Jun and Beth.

"Who are you people?" Ben asked everyone.

"He doesn't remember anything?" Beth asked Jirou.

"I don't think so," Jirou said to Beth.

Jirou reached into his pocket and pulled something out. Jirou walked up to Ben and revealed a gold star he was holding in his hand.

"Maybe this will help," Jirou said as Ben took the star from him.

"This was my father's," Ben told Jirou. "It was given to me when he died in my arms,"

"What happened to him?" Jun asked Ben.

"He was murdered by a group of no good double crossing snakes," Ben told Jun as he sat down.

"What's with the cowboy talk?" Mason asked Ben.

"Are you not from the west?" Ben asked Mason.

"Um, yeah, but not the old west," Mason said as he shrugged his shoulders.

"Old west?" Ben said in confusion.

"What year was it when your father died?" Jirou asked Ben.

"It was 1849," Ben told Jirou.

"Ben, that was 168 years ago," Beth informed Ben.

"No, that can't be right," Ben said as he looked down.

"How is he still alive and young?" Jun asked her father.

"Well, according to his blood sample, he has traces of cryogenics in his blood," Hitoshi told his daughter.

"So he was frozen alive," Jirou said as Ben looked over at him.

"Wait, I kind of remember what happened that night my father died," Ben said to the others. "Some kind of monster captured me,"

"Can you describe that monster?" Hitoshi questioned Ben.

"Yeah, it was female and had a fox looking face," Ben told Hitoshi.

"That has to be Madame Odius," Beth said to the others.

"So she captured you and froze you alive," Mason said as he approached Ben.

"Yeah, I guess so," Ben said as he nodded. "I can't remember anything after that,"

Hitoshi walked over to Ben and revealed the Gold Ninja Power Star to him.

"Does this look familiar to you?" Hitoshi asked Ben.

"Yeah, I remember it, kind of," Ben said as he took the Gold Ninja Power Star. "That freaky fox lady made me steal it,"

Ben looked over and saw the Ninja Nexus Prism.

"She made me steal it from that!" Ben said as he pointed at it.

"So you somehow took the Gold Ninja Power Star without any of us noticing in that cave," Jirou said to Ben.

"I guess so," Ben said as he gazed at his Power Star.

"Well, you're in safe hands now Ben," Hitoshi said to Ben as he placed his hand on his shoulder. "We'll make sure Madame Odius doesn't come after you again,"

"Thanks gramps," Ben said to Hitoshi.

Mason began chuckling causing Hitoshi to become annoyed.

"I'm not that old!" Hitoshi shouted as he turned towards Mason.

"Dad, there isn't any room for him to stay with us," Jun told her father.

"You're right," Hitoshi said as he sighed.

"He can stay at my place, I suppose," Mason said to the others. "There's a guest bedroom we never use,"

"Sounds good to me partner," Ben said as he rose to his feet.

"Don't call me that," Mason said as he looked away from Ben.

Jirou looked around in confusion causing Beth to notice him.

"What's up?" Beth asked Jirou.

"Where did Kiyomi go?" Jirou asked Beth.

"She had to leave," Beth told Jirou. "There was an emergency on her island,"

Out in the forest on Ishihara Island, Kiyomi and her father approached an ancient pedestal that was lying on the ground in the middle of the forest. Kiyomi walked up to the pedestal and noticed engravings on it. Kiyomi placed her hand on the engraving and turned towards her father.

"This pedestal was made for the island guardian," Kiyomi's father said to her.

"And one of your men dug it up earlier today?" Kiyomi asked her father.

"That is correct," Her father said as he nodded.

"Some of these markings look like a creature of some sort," Kiyomi said as she inspected the markings.

"A lion," Kiyomi's father informed her. "The guardian was a lion,"

"You mean the lion said to resemble an ancient Japanese castle?" Kiyomi asked her father.

"Yes, that's the one," Kiyomi's father said as he walked up to the pedestal.

"The castle of the skys that was armed with cannons that sounded like the roar of a lion when fired," Kiyomi said as she rose to her feet.

"I told other men to prepare to continue digging in this area," Kiyomi's father said to his daughter.

"Good, we're going to need all the help we can get," Kiyomi said as she turned towards her father. "I just hope what we're searching for is buried right beneath us,"


	12. Chapter 11

Chapter 11: Dorado Downfall

On the Galaxy Warriors ship, Galvanax was watching footage the Buzzcams were capturing around Dorado Bay and cringed in disgust at the citizens celebrating Christmas. Madame Odius stepped into the room as Galvanax rose from his seat.

"Is something troubling you?" Madame Odius asked Galvanax.

"All these people singing and wearing red and green are irritating me!" Galvanax said in frustration.

"Well, tomorrow is Christmas," Madame Odius told Galvanax.

"What on Earth is that?" Galvanax asked Madame Odius.

"A holiday the humans celebrate every year," Madame Odius informed Galvanax. "They also decorate their homes with lights and decorations,"

"You also are given presents!" Cosmo said as he walked into the room.

"Then I guess we should send the Rangers a present for Christmas," Galvanax said as he snickered.

"I'll go find a contestant immediately!" Cosmo said as he scurried out of the room.

Over at Mason's house, Ben was looking out the window of his room gazing at the city in the distance. The door slowly opened and revealed Ron standing in the hall. Ron stepped into the room as Ben turned away from the window.

"Merry Christmas Mr. Reynold," Ron said as he sat a glass of water down on a table next to the bed.

"Yeah, you too Ron," Ben said as he walked over and took the glass of water.

"Mason is waiting for you downstairs," Ron told Ben as he walked out of the room.

"Thanks, I'll head down in a minute," Ben said as he raised the glass up to his mouth.

Ben quickly drunk the water from the glass and sat it down on the desk.

"I better hurry before Mason blows a gasket," Ben said as he grabbed his jacket off of a coatrack.

Ben stepped out of his room and began walking down the hall towards the stairs. As Ben began walking down the stairs, Mason walked up to the bottom of the stairs.

"Come on, the others are waiting on us at the shop," Mason told Ben as Ben walked by him.

"Then let's skedaddle," Ben said as Ron opened the door for him.

"This cowboy talk needs to go," Mason said as he followed Ben out the door.

"Sorry partner, it's not going anywhere," Ben said as he smiled.

At the antique shop, the other Rangers were waiting down in the base for Mason and Ben to arrive. Jun looked over at the clock and sighed.

"We don't have all day," Jun said to the others.

"Yeah, mom wants me back home before her parents show up for dinner," Beth told the others.

"Howdy yal!" Ben said as he and Mason stepped through the doorway.

"About time," Jun said as she sat down.

"Oh come on, you don't have to be such a Grinch," Logan said to Jun.

Hitoshi came into the room and saw the teens chatting. Jirou looked over and saw that Hitoshi was about to say something.

"Did you ever hear from Kiyomi?" Jirou asked Hitoshi.

"Yes, but she's needed at home right now," Hitoshi informed Jirou.

"Man, she's been busy with whatever they're working on for days now," Mason said as he sat down next to Logan.

"For all we know it could be something for us to stop the bad guys," Logan said as he took off his Santa hat.

"Speaking of something to stop the bad guys with," Hitoshi said as he grabbed a present from under the Christmas tree.

Hitoshi walked over to Ben and handed him the present.

"You want me to open the first one?" Ben asked Hitoshi.

"Of course!" Hitoshi said as he smiled.

Ben removed the lid from the box and saw three Power Stars lying in the box.

"Whoa, new Power Stars!" Ben said as he pulled them out.

"That's right," Hitoshi said as he nodded. "The Bull Rider Zord Star and your very own Ninja Master Mode and Mega Morph Cycle Stars,"

"I even got a Zord of my own!" Ben said as he smiled.

Ben hugged Hitoshi and patted him on the back.

"Alright, who's next?" Ben said as he turned towards the others.

"Oh, this is from all of us!" Beth said as she handed Ben a bag.

Ben reached into the bag and pulled out a black cowboy hat.

"Nice, I've wanted to get a new hat since I wound up here!" Ben said in excitement.

Ben put the hat on causing everyone to begin clapping.

"It might not be my old hat, but it's a good replacement," Ben said as he smiled.

"It looks great on you," Jun told Ben as she grabbed another present from under the tree.

As Jun went to read the tag on the present the base began shaking viciously. The power went out as the Christmas tree fell to the ground.

"What in tarnation?" Ben said in confusion as he looked around in confusion.

"Was that an earthquake?" Jirou asked the others.

"Yeah, a bad one too," Logan said as the power came back on.

"I hope everyone is okay," Beth said in concern as Hitoshi stepped over to the computer.

"Once this thing comes back on I'll check in on it," Hitoshi said to the Rangers as he began waiting in front of the computer.

As the computer slowly came back on, Jirou and Mason sat the Christmas tree back up.

"Alright, let's check out what just happened," Hitoshi said as he sat down.

Hitoshi sat down and began typing.

"Whoa!" Logan said in amazement as he saw the readings pop up on the screen. "Those aren't natural,"

"Looks Norio is trying to ruin Christmas then," Jirou said as he sighed.

"Then let's save it before any more of those earthquakes go off," Beth said to everyone.

"I'll send the coordinates of the source to your Ninja Comms!" Hitoshi shouted to the Rangers as they ran out the door.

Hitoshi turned around in his chair and saw the Christmas ornaments scattered across the floor from where the tree fell over.

"No one ruins my Christmas gathering," Hitoshi said as he clenched his fist.

The Rangers arrived out in the city and saw multiple fire engines and ambulances along the street helping people injured by the earthquake. Ben looked over and saw a fire fighter carrying a little girl over to an ambulance. Ben noticed the girl holding her arm and became concerned.

"She'll be fine Ben," Jirou told Ben. "The paramedics will take care of her,"

"Yeah, I know," Ben said as he turned towards Jirou. "Whoever is causing this must be put down,"

"We'll put an end to it, don't worry," Logan said to Ben.

"According to the coordinates Hitoshi gave us, whoever is causing this is near the arena," Mason told the others as he looked down at his Ninja Comm.

"Let's get over there immediately," Beth said as she began walking away.

As the other Rangers went to follow Beth, the ground began shaking again. People in the area began screaming in horror as the ground near one of the ambulances began cracking.

"The girl!" Ben said in horror as he watched the ground beneath the ambulance weaken.

"Ben, stop!" Jirou shouted as Ben took off running towards the ambulance.

"Storm Star!" Ben shouted as he placed his Power Star on his guitar. "Ninja Tornado Attack!"

Ben swung his guitar causing a small tornado to fly towards the ambulance. The ground beneath the ambulance collapsed causing the paramedic and the little girl to begin screaming in horror.

"Amy!" The girl's mother shouted in horror as she watched the ambulance fall.

The tornado flew underneath the ambulance and caught it and began to slowly push it back to the surface.

"Thank goodness!" Amy's mother said as she ran up as the ambulance safely landed back on the ground near Ben.

"Mommy!" Amy said as she climbed out of the ambulance with the paramedic.

"Thank you Gold Ranger," The paramedic said as he nodded to Ben.

"No problem doc," Ben said as he saluted to the paramedic.

"Thank you for saving me Gold Ranger," Amy said to Ben as he began walking away.

"Stay safe ma'am," Ben said as he looked over his shoulder at Amy.

Amy began smiling as she watched Ben walk back over to the other Rangers.

"Come on, let's get you to the hospital and check on your arm," The paramedic said to Amy.

"Nice save," Mason said to Ben as Ben caught up to the others.

"Alright, let's go stop the freak that's causing this mess," Ben said as he walked ahead of the others.

In the control room onboard the Galaxy Warriors ship, Ripcon stepped into the room and knelt down before Galvanax. Galvanax looked down at Ripcon and snickered as he rose to his feet.

"What is troubling you?" Galvanax asked Ripcon.

"I found something in Odius' room," Ripcon told Galvanax. "A hidden room,"

"Did you find this room?" Galvanax asked Ripcon.

"No, but Odius is nowhere to be found and she hasn't left her room since going in there earlier," Ripcon told Galvanax. "I went in to check on her and she was gone,"

"How do you know she didn't leave?" Galvanax asked Ripcon.

"Cosmo showed me the security footage," Ripcon informed Galvanax. "She hasn't left yet,"

"Leave this to me," Galvanax said to Ripcon as he walked by him. "You need to begin preparing for your next battle,"

"As you wish," Ripcon said as he bowed to Galvanax.

As Galvanax left the room, Ripcon rose to his feet and snickered.

"You have nowhere else to hide Odius," Ripcon said as he walked out of the room.

Galvanax walked up to Madame Odius' door to her room and waited in front of it as the door slid open. Madame Odius turned towards Galvanax.

"Is something wrong?" Madame Odius asked Galvanax.

"I've been informed that you're hiding something in a secret room," Galvanax said to Madame Odius.

"You mean my lab?" Madame Odius asked Galvanax.

Madame Odius grabbed a poster of the Galaxy Warriors show on her wall and tore it off revealing a doorway.

"So, Ripcon was correct," Galvanax said as he chuckled. "You have been hiding something from us,"

"Well, where else would I work on upgrading the Kudabots for Cosmo?" Madame Odius asked Galvanax as Galvanax stepped into the lab.

"Then make something for me," Galvanax said as he turned towards Madame Odius.

"What's that?" Madame Odius asked Galvanax.

Galvanax began laughing as Ripcon stood at the entrance to Madame Odius' room eavesdropping on the conversation.

"She's taking the bait," Ripcon said as he snickered.

Outside of the arena, the Rangers rode up on their Mega Morph Cycles and quickly hopped off of them. The ground began shaking again causing Logan to stumble onto his Mega Morph Cycle. Logan got back up as the shaking subsided.

"Yeah, whoever is doing this is still here," Logan said to the others.

"Then let's get in there and end this," Ben said as he walked towards the entrance.

The others followed Ben into the arena and walked past the ticket gates.

"I don't hear anyone," Beth said to the others.

"Let's check out the court," Mason said as he walked towards an entrance to the stands.

Mason looked down at the basketball court and gasped when he saw a large hole in the middle of it.

"Whoa, that looks pretty deep," Ben said as he walked up beside Mason.

"What exactly are they planning?" Jirou wondered.

"Let's get a closer look," Jun said as she led the others to the lower level.

The Rangers cautiously approached the hole and looked down inside the hole.

"It's pitch black down there," Jun said to the others.

"There's no telling how deep it is," Mason said as rubble crumbled off the wall of the hole and fell down.

The whole arena began shaking violently catching the Rangers by surprise. The hole suddenly began growing causing the basketball court to start collapsing.

"Guys, get back!" Ben shouted as he jumped towards the stands.

Jirou and the others lost their footing and fell into the hole screaming with the rest of the basketball court.

"No!" Ben shouted in horror as the shaking stopped.

Ben quickly held his Ninja Comm up to his face and pressed a button on it.

"Guys, are you okay?" Ben said to the Ninja Comm.

A loud static noise emitted from the Ninja Comm causing Ben to lower his arm.

"What do I do now?" Ben asked himself.

At the bottom of the hole, Jirou rose out of the rubble and slowly made it to his feet. Jirou looked up and saw a small beam of light shining down on him. Mason rose from the rubble groaning in pain along with Logan. Jirou ran over and helped the two to their feet.

"Man, I'm surprised we lived that fall," Jirou said to them.

"Where's the girls?" Mason asked Jirou as he dusted off the dirt on him.

Jun and Beth slowly rose up out of the rubble gasping for air startling Logan.

"Are you two alright?" Jirou asked Beth and Jun as he helped Beth up.

"Yeah, I'm still a little shaken up after that," Jun said as Logan helped her to her feet.

"I don't think we can climb out of here," Jirou said as he looked up.

"That's definitely out of the question," Logan agreed as he sighed.

"It's so dark you can barely see too," Beth said as she looked around.

"There is a tunnel over there though," Jirou said as he pointed forward.

"Should we see where it goes?" Jun asked the others.

"I bet who we're looking for is at the other end," Mason said as he began walking.

"I'll take that as a yes," Jun said as she began following Mason.

"Wait, where's Ben?" Beth asked the others.

"Did he not fall down?" Logan wondered.

"That or he's still buried here," Jun said as she turned around.

"Should someone stay and look for him?" Beth asked Jirou.

"He didn't fall with us," Jirou informed Beth. "I saw him jump away as the ground collapsed,"

"Hopefully he finds a way down here to help us then," Mason said as he continued walking.

The other Rangers began following Mason into the tunnel and left the area where they fell in.

In the Ranger's Base, Ben entered the lab causing Hitoshi to turn around in his computer chair. Hitoshi rose from his seat when he saw that Ben was by himself. Ben took off his helmet and revealed a look of horror on his face.

"What's wrong?" Hitoshi asked Ben.

"The others fell into a large hole in the arena," Ben told Hitoshi. "I tried using my Ninja Comm to contact them, but I couldn't get anyone to answer,"

"That's not good," Hitoshi said as he sat back down.

"What do I do?" Ben asked Hitoshi.

"Find a way to safely get down that hole," Hitoshi told Ben.

"Right, I'll try and use my Storm Star to get me down there," Ben said as he nodded.

"Was there any sign of an enemy?" Hitoshi asked Ben.

"Aside from the giant hole, nothing," Ben told Hitoshi.

"Then get back there immediately and find the others," Hitoshi ordered Ben.

"Yes sir," Ben said as he walked back out the door.

"Please be okay kids," Hitoshi said in concern as he turned back towards the computer.

Down in the tunnel, Jirou and the others were cautiously continuing forward in search of the cause of the earthquakes. A dim light was suddenly seen as the Rangers turned the corner. Someone laughing evilly was heard up ahead.

"Get ready," Jirou said to the others as he pulled out his Ninja Star Blade.

"Soon this city won't be standing and Christmas will be over sooner than they think," A rocky monster with bulldozer-like arms said as he laughed.

As Mason placed his hand on the wall of the tunnel, a chunk of dirt fell and hit the ground.

"Who's there?" The monster said as he swiftly turned around.

The monster saw the Rangers and gasped in disbelief.

"How did you find me?" The monster asked the Rangers.

"Your earthquakes led us right to you," Logan told the monster.

"How could I, Stonedozer, be so stupid!" Stonedozer shouted as he stomped on the ground in frustration.

The tunnel began shaking viciously from Stonedozer's stomp.

"Hey, you'll kill all of us if you keep doing that down here!" Mason shouted at Stonedozer.

"Oh, I won't die," Stonedozer said to Mason. "My rock hard body can survive anything,"

"We need to get him above ground," Jirou said to the others.

"How do we do that?" Beth asked Jirou.

"I don't have time to deal with you pests anyway," Stonedozer said as a group of Basher Boys appeared behind him. "I have more tunnels to dig,"

Stonedozer began walking away causing the Basher Bots to go after the Rangers. Jirou ducked under one of the Basher Bots attacks and went after Stonedozer leaving the others behind.

"Jirou!" Mason shouted as he blocked a Basher Bots weapon with his sword.

Mason kicked the Basher Bot causing it to stumble backwards.

"Go after Jirou!" Logan said to Mason. "He'll need some backup,"

"You guys hurry and take these things down," Mason said as he took off running down the tunnel after Jirou.

"Will do," Jun said as she struck a Basher Bot across the chest with her sword.

Above ground, Ben walked up to the hole and placed his Storm Star on his guitar. Ben flipped the flap on the Star changing it to wind mode and spun the Star. Ben created a small tornado above the hole and quickly jumped onto it. Ben began riding the tornado as it began descending down the hole.

"Hang on guys, I'm coming," Ben said as he continued riding on the tornado.

Ben landed at the bottom of the hole and noticed the tunnel.

"They must've went this way," Ben said as he began running down the tunnel.

As Ben continued running, the tunnel began shaking again causing him to fall to one knee.

"I don't think this tunnel will last much longer," Ben said as the tunnel continued shaking.

Ben quickly began running again as the shaking slacked off. As Ben quickly turned the corner Basher Bots remains were seen lying on the ground. Ben knelt down next to a Basher Bot's arm that was slowly moving.

"The others are close," Ben said as he rose back to his feet.

Out in the hills outside of the city, Stonedozer came running out of a cave breathing heavily with Jirou right behind him. Jirou kicked Stonedozer in the back but instantly fell to the ground.

"I'm too rock hard for any of your attacks to work on me," Stonedozer said to Jirou as he turned towards him.

"Then let's try my sword," Jirou said as he rose back to his feet.

Jirou struck Stonedozer across the chest with his Ninja Star Blade leaving no sign of damage on Stonedozer.

"I told you your attacks wouldn't work!" Stonedozer shouted as he swung one of his arms at Jirou.

Jirou jumped back and evaded Stonedozer. Jirou pulled out his Ninja Blaster and began firing blasts at Stonedozer. Stonedozer laughed as the blasts just bounced off of him.

"Nothing is working," Jirou said as he lowered his blaster.

Stonedozer jabbed his shovel arm into the ground and flung clumps of dirt and rocks at Jirou.

"Now let's see how you do against my attacks!" Stonedozer shouted as he rammed into Jirou and sent him flying.

Jirou crashed into the side of a hill and began rolling down the hill. Stonedozer approached Jirou as Jirou fell to the bottom of the hill.

"Now I'll crush you!" Stonedozer said to Jirou as he raised his foot up.

Energy arrows began hitting Stonedozer causing him to stumble backwards. Stonedozer groaned in frustration as he looked over and saw the other Rangers run out of the cave.

"You guys keep firing so I can get Jirou to safety," Mason said to the others as he ran off towards Jirou.

"You heard him," Logan said as he aimed his Battle Morpher at Stonedozer.

Logan and the girls continued firing arrows at Stonedozer as Mason made his way to Jirou.

"Come on, it'll take more than that to finish you off," Mason said as he grabbed Jirou by the arm.

"This guy is no joke," Jirou said as Mason helped him up. "None of my weapons are working on him,"

Mason looked over and saw Stonedozer blocking the arrows with his arms while he was running towards the others.

"Run!" Logan shouted as he dove out of the way with Beth and Jun causing Stonedozer to storm past them.

"Why aren't our attacks working?" Beth said in confusion.

"I'm not sure, but we need to find a weakness before this guy topples the city," Jun said as she pulled out her Ninja Star Blade.

"Use your Element Stars and try to restrain him," Jirou said as he walked over with Mason.

"You ready Beth?" Jun asked Beth as she pulled out her Element Star.

"Oh yeah," Beth said as she placed her Element Star on her Ninja Star Blade.

"Ninja Spin!" The girls shouted as they spun the Element Stars on their swords. "Ninja Metal Attack!"

Chains shot out of the ends of the Ninja Star Blades and instantly wrapped around Stonedozer.

"Do you really think this can stop me?" Stonedozer said as he chuckled.

"We're up!" Jirou shouted as he took off running towards Stonedozer along with Mason and Logan.

"Triple Ninja Strike!" The boys shouted as they went to attack Stonedozer at once.

"You morons!" Stonedozer shouted as he broke free of the chains.

Stonedozer rammed into Jirou and sent him crashing into Logan and Mason right behind him. The three boys fell to the ground as Stonedozer slowly approached them.

"Now for your demise!" Stonedozer shouted as he raised one of his arms into the air.

"Not while we're still here!" Jun shouted as she and Beth ran up and struck Stonedozer with their swords.

"Why you!" Stonedozer shouted in anger as he swatted Jun and Beth away with ease with his arm.

Jun and Beth crashed into the side of a hill and rolled back down lying on the ground.

"Now, where was I?" Stonedozer asked himself as he looked back down at the boys.

"Not so fast partner!" Ben shouted as he walked out of the cave.

Stonedozer looked over and saw Ben staring at him.

"You still have me to deal with before squashing my friends," Ben said as he pulled out his guitar.

"With pleasure," Stonedozer said as he began walking towards Ben.

"Be careful Ben!" Jirou shouted to Ben as he struggled to get up. "None of our weapons or attacks worked on him!"

"Wait, we didn't try Ninja Master Mode!" Mason said in disbelief.

"Then that's what I'll do," Ben said as he pulled out his Ninja Master Mode Star.

"What's that going to do to me?"Stonedozer asked Ben.

"It's going to crumble you to pieces," Ben said as he placed the Power Star on his Rockstorm Guitar. "Ninja Master Mode!"

Ben spun the Power Star causing him to begin glowing along with his guitar.

"What's happening?" Stonedozer said in confusion as he shielded his eyes from the light.

The light faded revealing Ben wearing the Ninja Master Mode armor with the Ninja Master Blade in his hand.

"Now this is what I call power!" Ben said in amazement.

"I don't care about your fancy armor!" Stonedozer shouted as he went to grab Ben.

Ben spun away from Stoendozer and hit him with the Ninja Master Blade while spinning. Stonedozer gasped when he felt pain on his chest where he was hit.

"How did that hurt me?" Stonedozer said in confusion.

"Let's see how you handle this!" Ben said as he pulled the ripcord on the Ninja Master Blade causing the stars in the blade to begin spinning.

"I will crush your tiny head!" Stonedozer shouted in anger as he went to grab Ben.

"Ninja Master Strike!" Ben shouted as he sliced through Stonedozer with ease with the Ninja Master Blade.

"My rock hard abs became too soft!" Stonedozer shouted as he fell to the ground and exploded.

"Christmas is saved!" Ben said as he powered back down to his normal mode.

"Nice going Ben!" Jirou said as and the others walked up to Ben.

"Now we can get back to celebrating Christmas," Beth said in relief.

"Not yet," Someone said to the Rangers.

"Who was that?" Logan said in confusion.

Rocks on the ground began gathering up and forming a body.

"No, I can't believe it!" Ben said in disbelief as he watched the rocks form a body.

Stonedozer began laughing as his body was restored.

"How do we stop a regenerating monster?" Mason asked the others.

"At least we know Ninja Master Mode works on him," Logan said as he pulled out his Ninja Master Mode Star.

"Yeah, everyone transform to Ninja Master Mode," Jirou said as he placed his Ninja Master Mode Star on his Ninja Star Blade.

"Ninja Spin!" The Rangers shouted as they activated their Ninja Master Mode Stars.

Stonedozer shielded his eyes as a bright flash of light occurred as the Rangers transformed.

"I'll just bury you brats alive!" Stonedozer shouted as he stomped on the ground causing the ground to shake viciously.

"Stop him before he turns the Earth inside out!" Logan shouted as he took off running towards Stonedozer with the others.

"You won't stop me!" Stonedozer shouted as he stomped again causing the ground in front of him to begin splitting apart.

Jun and Mason ran up to Stonedozer and attacked him with their Ninja Master Blades. Stonedozer was struck by the blades causing him to fall back to the ground.

"Here, have another present from us!" Logan shouted as he and Beth ran up to Stonedozer as he got up.

"I hope you like it!" Beth shouted as she hit Stonedozer with a downward slash.

Beth and Logan quickly moved out of the way and revealed Jirou and Ben standing in front of Stonedozer.

"Now for the final gift of the evening," Jirou said as he pulled the ripcord on his Ninja Master Blade.

"Oh yeah!" Ben said as he pulled the ripcord on his Ninja Master Blade.

"Double Ninja Master Strike!" Ben and Jirou shouted as they struck Stonedozer with their Ninja Master Blades while the stars were spinning in the blade.

Jirou and Ben struck Stonedozer once again as they turned away from Stonedozer.

"Looks like you'll be missing Christmas dinner," Ben said as Stonedozer exploded while screaming in agony.

Jirou turned towards Stonedozer and prepared to attack again.

"Here's hoping he stays down this time," Jirou said to Ben.

"I have a feeling we have one more round with him," Mason said as he looked up towards the sky.

A powerful blast fired down from the sky and struck the remains of Stonedozer's body. The force from the blast blew the Rangers back causing them to fall to the ground.

"Whoa!" Ben shouted in horror as he watched Stonedozer's body reform and begin growing.

"Now I can tear this planet in half with ease!" Stonedozer shouted as he towered above the Rangers.

"Ben, now's the time to use your new Zord Star," Jirou said to Ben.

"Ah yeah, I almost forgot about that!" Ben said as he pulled out his Zord Star.

Ben placed his Zord Star on his Rockstorm Guitar and spun the Star.

"Summon Zords!" Ben shouted as the Star began glowing.

A loud bellow was heard in the distance causing Stonedozer to look away from the Rangers.

"What was that noise?" Stonedozer said in confusion.

A large ATV resembling a bull shot into the air after driving over one of the hills. A small humanoid Zord leapt off the back of the larger Zord and struck Stonedozer with a swift kick.

"Nice going Robo Rider Zord!" Ben shouted as he landed on the shoulder of his Zord.

"That Zord looks like the Robo Red Zord!" Logan said as he and the others watched from below.

"That kick was uncalled for!" Stonedozer said in frustration as he rose back to his feet.

"There's more where that came from," Ben said as he strummed his guitar. "It's Megazord time!"

The Robo Rider Zord leapt onto the back of the Bullzord and began driving towards Stonedozer.

"Oh no you don't!" Stonedozer shouted as he rolled out of the way of the Zord.

"Transform now!" Ben shouted as his Zord began disassembling.

The Zord rose up on its back wheels as the front wheels became arms. The Bullzord head attached on the chest causing a large Power Star to appear above the Megazord. The large Power Star covered up the Robo Rider Zord creating a head for the Megazord.

"Bull Rider Megazord transformation complete!" Ben shouted as he appeared in the cockpit.

"Let's see who's the last man standing!" Stonedozer shouted as he began running towards the Bull Rider Megazord.

"Bull Rifle, fire!" Ben shouted as the Megazord aimed its blaster at Stonedozer and began firing.

The blasts hit Stonedozer causing him to stop right in front of the Megazord.

"Now eat this!" Ben shouted as the Megazord struck Stonedozer with the bayonet on the tip of the blaster.

Stonedozer stumbled back away from the Megazord holding his face in pain.

"I'm getting really angry!" Stonedozer shouted in frustration.

"Then it's time for you to take a chill pill!" Ben shouted as the Megazord aimed at Stonedozer again.

Ben strummed his guitar causing the Megazord's blaster to begin glowing.

"Rodeo Rapid Fire!" Ben shouted as his Megazord began firing powerful blasts at Stonedozer.

Each shot that hit Stonedozer blasted a hole in Stonedozer's body one after another.

"I've crumbling to pieces!" Stonedozer shouted as he exploded into smithereens.

"Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!" Ben shouted as the Bull Rider Megazord turned away from the explosion.

Back at the antique shop, everyone was sitting near the Christmas tree chatting together and enjoying being together. Beth suddenly came into the shop causing everyone else to go silent.

"I thought you were staying home for the day?" Jirou asked Beth.

"Well, I wanted to, but mom insisted on me spending Christmas with you guys," Beth said as she walked over and sat down.

Outside of the shop, Mason approached the door with a small gift box in his right hand. Mason looked through the window and saw Beth and Jirou sitting together while talking to the others. Mason sighed as he turned away from the door and dropped the gift on the sidewalk in front of the shop.

"It's never going to happen," Mason said to himself as he began walking away.

Mason stormed off in frustration. Beth looked out the corner of her eye and saw someone go by outside. Beth rose from her seat and began walking towards the entrance.

"Is something wrong?" Ben asked Beth as he noticed her staring outside.

"I thought I just saw Mason go by," Beth told the others.

Beth opened the door and hit the gift box with her foot as she went to take a step.

"What's this?" Beth wondered as she leaned over and picked up the gift box.

Beth pulled the lid off the gift box and saw a tag inside along with a necklace.

"From Mason, to Beth," Beth said as she read the tag.

Beth looked around outside and saw no sign of Mason.

"Mason, what's going on?" Beth wondered as Jirou walked up to her.

"Is everything okay?" Jirou asked Beth.

"Yeah, everything's fine," Beth said as she closed the door and hid the necklace behind her back.

"Well come on, the food is almost done," Jirou said as he headed back to the couch.

Hitoshi came walking from the back of the shop carrying bowls filled with different foods and sat them on the table near the teens. Beth looked back out the window with a look of concern on her face.

"Did I do something?" Beth wondered as she looked down at the necklace in her hand.


	13. Chapter 12

Chapter 12: On A Timer

Inside of Madame Odius' lab on the Galaxy Warriors ship, Madame Odius began snickering as she picked up a vile off a rack. Madame Odius turned towards a monster resembling a steaming tea kettle and handed it the vile.

"What will this do?" The monster asked Madame Odius.

"Inside that vile is a lethal poison," Madame Odius told the monster. "It will not harm you, but it will harm whoever you decide to use it on,"

The monster popped the cork off the vile and quickly chugged the substance down that was in the vile.

"Ah, the steam inside me is growing fiercer!" The monster said as she laughed.

"Now get going Toxitea," Madame Odius said to the monster as she opened the door.

"Does it matter which Ranger I get?" Toxitea asked Madame Odius as she stopped at the exit.

"No, but make sure you get one of them," Madame Odius told Toxitea. "Galvanax will come for both our heads if you fail,"

"I won't let you down," Toxitea said as she bowed to Madame Odius.

Toxitea quickly headed down the hall and left Madame Odius by herself.

"Once one of the Rangers becomes poisoned, I will obtain their Ninja Power Star for myself," Madame Odius said as she giggled to herself.

Over at her house, Beth came walking down the stairs and saw her mother looking on her phone in boredom. Beth's mother looked up and saw Beth heading towards the door.

"Where are you heading?" Beth's mom asked Beth.

Beth let go of the door knob and turned towards her mother.

"I'm going to work," Beth told her mother. "I have to get there early because I have a delivery to make,"

"Since when did an antique shop do deliveries?" Beth's mom asked Beth.

"I don't know, but this person wants this item delivered to them," Beth told her mother.

"Alright, be careful," Beth's mom said as she turned her attention back to her phone.

"I will, don't worry," Beth said as she opened the door and headed outside.

Beth pulled out her phone and looked down at the time.

"This guy wants that dagger before rush hour," Beth said as she began walking down the street.

At Mason's house outside of the city, Ben was knocking on Mason's bedroom door trying to get him to come out. Ben began banging on the door impatiently causing Mason's father to step out of his room in confusion.

"What's going on?" Greg asked Ben.

"Mason hasn't come out of his room in a few days," Ben explained to Mason's father. "He's been hiding in there since Christmas,"

"Mason?" Greg said as he walked up to the door. "What's the problem?"

Greg waited with his ear next to the door for a response.

"Come on, we can talk about this together," Greg said to Mason through the door.

Greg sighed as Mason didn't respond to him.

"See, that's what he's been doing," Ben told Greg.

"Well, you go on and I'll keep trying to get to him," Greg said as he patted on Ben's shoulder.

"Alright, I'll see you guys later," Ben said as he walked by Greg.

"Open the door Mason!" Greg shouted at Mason as he began wiggling the doorknob.

Greg groaned in frustration as he leaned against the wall across from Mason's door.

"Teenagers," Greg said as he slid down to the floor.

Down in the Rangers base beneath the antique shop, Jirou walked into the lab where Logan was working on the computer by himself. Jirou approached Logan and saw that Logan's eyes were struggling to stay open and bloodshot.

"Did you not go home last night?" Jirou asked Logan as he sat down next to him.

"No, I've been trying to adjust our Ninja Comms since yesterday," Logan said as he rubbed his eyes.

"And you were supposed to go with Beth to deliver that antique dagger," Jirou said as he crossed his arms.

"Oh crap, I almost forgot about that!" Logan said as he quickly jumped to his feet.

"Hold on!" Jirou shouted as Logan began walking towards the door. "You can't drive across the city in your condition,"

"No one else has a license though except Mason," Logan said as he opened the door.

"Then I'll go with you guys to make sure everything goes smoothly," Jirou said as he walked over to Logan.

"Alright then, let's go wait for Beth upstairs," Logan said as he and Jirou began heading upstairs.

Jirou and Logan made it upstairs and saw Jun sitting behind the counter with her head lying down on the counter.

"Have any of the others showed up yet?" Jirou asked Jun.

"No, but the dagger is sitting right here," Jun said as she tapped on a box sitting on the counter.

"Grab the dagger and we'll go wait for Beth in my car," Logan said as he walked towards the front door.

Jirou grabbed the box and began making his way to the door as Jun left her seat.

"Hold on, I'm not getting left here!" Jun said as she ran out the door behind Jirou.

"Fine, but you're cleaning up the shop after work today," Jirou said as he got into the car.

"Whatever," Jun said as she rolled her eyes.

"What's this about?" Beth said in confusion as she walked up and saw everyone in Logan's car.

"Logan barely slept last night," Jirou explained to Beth as he hung his head out the window. "So Jun and I are going with you guys to make sure he stays awake behind the wheel,"

"Ok, sounds fine to me," Beth said as she opened a door.

Beth got into the backseat with Jun and closed her door as Logan cranked the engine.

"Let's hurry and get this dagger delivered and never do a delivery like this again," Logan said as he began driving down the road.

Back at Mason's house, Greg was still sitting outside of his son's room against the door. Greg sighed in disappointment and rose to his feet. As he turned towards the door, Greg began knocking on the door in concern.

"Mason, you can't stay in there forever," Greg pleaded to his son. "You'll need to eat something and get cleaned up,"

"Only if you get someone for me," Mason said from inside the room.

"Alright, who?" Greg asked his son.

A piece of paper slid out from under the door causing Greg to lean forward and pick it up.

"I'll go see if I can find them then," Greg said as he backed away from Mason's door.

Inside of his room, Mason was sitting against the wall pouting.

"He just had to show up," Mason said as he clenched his fist.

Mason slowly rose to his feet and began to stumble. Mason placed his hand on the wall and caught himself before he fell.

"Hopefully she'll come," Mason said as he walked over and sat down on his bed.

Outside of the city, Jirou and the others were riding down the road heading towards the delivery location for the antique dagger. Beth looked over at Logan who was driving and saw him beginning to doze off. Beth tapped on Logan's shoulder causing him to raise his head back up.

"I really need a nap," Logan said as he continued driving.

"Well you can't nap until we get this dagger delivered," Beth told Logan as she held the box in her lap.

"We'll find somewhere to stop on the way back," Jun said to Logan.

"That would be nice," Logan said as he yawned.

"We should be coming up on the house right now," Beth said as she looked down at the GPS app on her phone.

Logan slowed down and stopped in front of a trail that led to a large gate.

"This guy is rolling in cash if he has a gate like that," Logan said as he looked out the window.

Logan parked the car and removed his keys from the switch. Jirou stepped out of the car as a gentle breeze blew by.

"Is something wrong?" Jun asked Jirou as she got out of the car.

"Let's just get this dagger to the buyer," Jirou said as he began walking towards the gate.

The others followed Jirou up to the gate and came to a halt when the gate didn't open.

"State your purpose here," An elderly voice said from the speaker.

Beth walked up to the speaker and leaned up towards it.

"Yes, we're from the antique shop you bought a dagger from," Beth said into the speaker. "We're here to deliver your dagger to you,"

"Very well, hold on a second and wait for the gate to open," The man said to Beth through the speaker.

Beth stepped back away from the gate and began waiting for it to open.

"How long do we have to wait?" Jirou wondered.

The gate slowly began sliding aside screeching loudly.

"He needs to get someone to oil that gate," Logan said as he and the others walked through the gateway.

"Let's just get this thing delivered and get out of here," Beth said as she led the others down the path.

Behind the Rangers, Madame Odius leaned out from behind a tree and began snickering.

"This is perfect," Madame Odius said confidently. "Two of the Rangers aren't here,"

Madame Odius was surrounded by purple flames causing her to instantly teleport away.

"Whoa, this place looks old," Jun said as she saw the house in the distance.

The house was covered in dying vines and had weeds growing around the front yard.

"He needs to hire a gardener," Beth said in disgust as she walked up to the front door.

The door suddenly came open causing Beth to gasp in astonishment.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," An old man said to Beth as he stepped out of the way of the doorway.

"What should I do with this?" Beth asked the old man as she showed the box to him.

"Just set it over on the counter behind you dear," The old man told Beth as he pointed at the counter with his cane.

"How long have you lived here?" Jun asked the old man.

"Nearly forty years," The old man said as he smiled.

Jirou looked over and saw a picture of a young man with a girl dressed in a kimono.

"You're Japanese," Jirou said to the old man as he continued looking at the picture.

"Yes I am," The old man said as he chuckled. "I moved here when I was thirty,"

"What made you leave Japan?" Logan asked the old man.

"Ah, I just wanted to make changes to my life," The old man said as he walked over to Jirou.

The old man picked up the picture frame sitting on the counter.

"It was after I lost her when I moved here," The old man said to the teens.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Jun said to the old man.

"It's fine," The old man said as he sat the picture down.

The old man walked over to the box sitting on the counter and opened the box. He pulled out the dagger that was in its sheath covered in jewels.

"This is an ancient Japanese dagger," The old man told the teens. "I collect old weapons from Japan,"

"I bet you have a lot of stuff," Logan said as he leaned against the wall.

"Oh I do," The old man said as he chuckled.

The old man opened a door opposite of the front door and revealed a room where many weapons lined the wall.

"Holy moly!" Beth said in amazement at the old man's collection.

"I have many things," The old man said as he sat the dagger on a rack. "From katanas to shurikens,"

Jirou noticed a book on a bookcase and walked over and pulled it out. Jirou turned the book over and noticed a symbol on the cover of the book.

"Where did you get this?" Jirou asked the old man.

The old man turned towards Jirou and saw the book he was holding.

"Oh, I bought that book at an auction in Japan many years ago," The old man told Jirou.

"Where at in Japan?" Jirou asked the old man. "Near Takayama?"

"Yes, that's the place!" The old man said as he remembered.

"This book is about my family," Jirou said as he carefully opened the book.

"Are you serious?" Jun asked Jirou as she walked over to check out the book.

"Boy, may I ask you a question?" The old man asked Jirou.

"Yeah, it's fine," Jirou said as he looked over at the old man.

"What is your name?" The old man asked Jirou as he placed both hands on his cane.

"Jirou Takayama," Jirou said as he handed the book to Jun.

The old man's eyes widened as he dropped his cane.

"You're the one they speak of in that book!" The old man said in disbelief.

"He's right," Jun said as she showed Jirou the book.

"Jirou, the son of the new grandmaster, Ichirou, sacrificed himself to help his father seal the Demon King away," Jirou said as he read the sentence aloud.

"That's you that the book speaks of," The old man said to Jirou.

"Yeah, it is," Jirou said as Jun handed him the book.

"Then the rumors were true," The old man said as he turned away from Jirou. "The Demon King was set free,"

"He was, and he's not alone this time," Jirou informed the old man.

"As I thought, other demons are helping him," The old man said as he became worried.

"Now, who are you?" Jirou asked the old man.

"I am a friend of yours grandfather," The old man told Jirou. "I am Katsu Ishihara,"

"This old dude is Kiyomi's grandpa?" Logan said in confusion.

"Logan!" Jun said as she slapped Logan on the back of his head.

"Ow!" Logan said in pain.

"Go ahead and take that book with you Jirou," Katsu said to Jirou. "I'm sure it will be helpful to you one day,"

"Are you sure?" Jirou asked the old man.

"Yes, it belonged to your family anyway," Katsu said as he smiled.

"Thanks," Jirou said as he bowed to Katsu as his Ninja Comm began going off.

"Dad, what's the problem?" Jun asked her father through her Ninja Comm.

"I'm picking up signals of Buzzcams in your area," Hitoshi said to the Rangers.

"That's not good," Beth said to the others.

"Katsu, get somewhere safe," Jirou told Katsu.

"What's going on?" Katsu said as the front door was blown off the hinges.

Evil laughter was heard as smoke filled the room.

"Who's there?" Jirou said to the person laughing as he covered his mouth with his arm.

"It's the next contestant of Galaxy Warriors!" Someone shouted as the smoke began clearing. "Toxitea!"

Toxitea continued laughing as she had her arms raised high.

"Now of all times," Jun said in frustration.

"What're you kids going to do?" Katsu asked Beth as she helped him into another room.

"Don't worry, we'll make sure you and your home are safe," Beth said as she backed away from Katsu.

Beth closed the door and quickly turned towards Toxitea.

"Look, you can't just barge into an old man's home and expect to fight us," Beth said to Toxitea.

"Then we'll take things outside!" Toxitea shouted as she flipped back outside.

"We can't let her get away!" Jirou shouted as he pulled out his morpher.

The Rangers instantly morphed as they ran out the door and came up to Toxitea outside of Katsu's home.

"You might be the next contestant, but you'll be joining the rest of Norio's cronies on the failure list," Jirou said to Toxitea as he pulled out his Ninja Star Blade.

"Kudabots assemble!" Toxitea shouted as Kudabots leapt over her shoulders and landed in front of her.

"Let's take out these bolt brains!" Jirou shouted as he and the others went after the Kudabots.

A Kudabot swung its staff at Logan and caused a smoke cloud to erupt in its face. Logan dropped down from a tree above and slashed the Kudabot across the back easily defeating it.

"What happened to the Basher Bots?" Logan asked Toxitea as he dodged a Kudabot's staff. "Did you guys run out?"

"These stupid Kudabots are getting torn apart!" Toxitea said in frustration as she watched Jun attacked a Kudabot with her Morpher in Claw Mode.

"They get easier by the day!" Jun shouted as she pounced towards a Kudabot and struck it with her Morpher.

"You've got that right!" Beth said as she fired an arrow at a Kudabot far from her with her morpher.

The arrow struck the Kudabot in the head causing its head to explode.

"Now here's one for you!" Beth shouted as she fired an arrow at Toxitea.

Toxitea swatted the arrow away and began running towards Beth.

"I'll make your skin rot right off!" Toxitea shouted as she fired a powerful blast at Beth.

Beth jumped up to the tree branch above her and narrowly avoided the blast.

"Too bad!" Beth shouted as she fired another arrow at Toxitea while hanging from the branch with her legs.

The arrow struck Toxitea causing her to stumble backwards.

"Nice shot!" Jirou shouted to Beth as took out three Kudabots with a single slash from his sword.

"You're really getting on my nerves!" Toxitea shouted as her body began glowing.

"What's she doing?" Beth said in confusion.

Toxitea spewed a cloud of purple fumes towards Beth as Jirou shoved another Kudabot aside.

"Beth!" Jirou shouted as he began running towards Beth.

Beth turned towards Jirou and was shoved aside by him causing the purple fumes to surround Jirou.

"What is this?" Jirou said as he grabbed his throat.

"Poison created by Madame Odius herself!" Toxitea told Jirou.

Jirou demorphed as he fell to his knees gasping for air.

"Jirou!" Beth shouted in horror as she watched Jirou begin sweating and gasping for air.

Jirou fell to the ground and fainted after breathing in the purple fumes. Toxitea began laughing as Madame Odius slowly walked up beside her. Beth ran up to Jirou and quickly knelt down to check on him.

"What did you do to him?" Beth asked Toxitea.

"You better hurry White Ranger, because you and your friends only have twenty-four hours to save the Red Ranger's life," Madame Odius told Beth.

"You monsters!" Beth shouted as she demorphed.

"If you want the cure, you need to hand over all of your Power Stars," Madame Odius told Beth.

"That's not happening!" Logan said as he shoved a Kudabot aside.

"Then you will all watch as your friend dies tomorrow," Madame Odius said as she surrounded herself and Toxitea with purple flames.

The two of them teleported away leaving the Rangers with a dying Jirou in Beth's arms.

"Hang in there Jirou," Beth said in concern to Jirou.

On board the Galaxy Warriors ship, Madame Odius stepped out of the control room and began making her way to her room. Ripcon stepped out of his room and began storming towards Madame Odius.

"What have you done?" Ripcon said to Madame Odius as he grabbed her by the shoulder. "The Red Ranger was supposed to be mine!"

"He wasn't the target Toxitea was going for," Madame Odius told Ripcon. "She was going after the White Ranger if you watch the footage,"

"I don't care who she was targeting!" Ripcon shouted angrily as he punched the wall. "You just possibly killed my enemy!"

Madame Odius knocked Ripcon's hand off of her shoulder and turned away from him.

"Then you better hope they find a way to cure him," Madame Odius said to Ripcon as she walked away.

"I will make sure you pay for this!" Ripcon shouted at Madame Odius as she stepped into her room.

Ripcon turned away angrily and punched the wall again.

"To think my brother would go down that easily," Ripcon said quietly to himself.

Ripcon stormed back into his room and transformed back into his human form.

"If Jirou's friends fail, I will make sure he lives so I can be the one to end him," Seiji said as he looked at himself in the mirror.

Seiji grabbed the mirror and slung it across the room causing it to shatter.

Back at the antique shop, Logan's car quickly pulled up near the front door as the tires screeched loudly. Ben and Hitoshi stepped out from the backroom and saw Jun and Beth quickly get out. Ben ran outside and saw Logan trying to get an unconscious Jirou out of the car.

"Let me help!" Ben said as he helped Logan pull Jirou out of the car.

"What happened to him?" Hitoshi asked the girls.

"He was poisoned by Toxitea," Jun told her father as Ben and Logan carried Jirou inside.

"Get him downstairs so I can check on him," Hitoshi said to the boys as they walked by carrying Jirou.

Jun looked over at Beth and saw a horrified look on her face.

"He's going to be okay," Jun told Beth as she put her hand on her shoulder.

"Oh Beth, Mason's dad looking for you," Hitoshi said to Beth as he poked his head out of the backroom doorway.

"What did he want?" Beth asked Hitoshi.

"He wanted your help with something," Hitoshi said as he went back into the backroom.

"You go and check what Mr. Denning wanted," Jun said to Beth. "We'll take care of Jirou,"

"Alright, I'll be back in a few," Beth said as she headed towards the door.

Beth stopped at the door and looked back towards the backroom.

"I'll be back for you Jirou," Beth said to herself as she opened the door.

Beth walked off down the street and began heading to Mason's house.

Down in the lab, Jirou was lying on a table with an IV stuck in his arm. Hitoshi took a blood sample from Jirou's arm and rolled over in his chair to a microscope sitting on his desk. Hitoshi sat the blood sample under the microscope and began inspecting the sample.

"See anything?" Ben asked Hitoshi.

"Oh yeah, his blood is tainted by some kind of toxic poison," Hitoshi told Ben. "I'd say he might not even have a day left in him,"

"There's got to be something we can do," Ben said as he crossed his arms.

"I'll try and make a vaccine with a blood sample," Hitoshi told Ben. "You and the others should try and find Toxitea and see if destroying her will work,"

"Alright, I'll go get Logan and Jun and head out," Ben said as he nodded.

Ben left the lab and left Hitoshi alone with Jirou.

"Everything will be alright Jirou, just hang in there," Hitoshi said to Jirou as he began working on the computer.

Beth arrived at Mason's house in a taxi and stepped out of the car after handing the driver money. Beth began walking up towards the front door as the taxi drive drove off. Beth came up to the door and rang the doorbell.

"Come on, I don't have time for this," Beth said impatiently.

The door opened up and Beth saw Ron standing at the door.

"May I help you Ms. Tolbert?" Ron asked Beth.

"Mr. Denning came by the store looking for me," Beth told Ron.

"Ah, he is upstairs trying to get young Mason out of his bedroom," Ron told Beth as he let Beth inside.

"I had a feeling this was about Mason," Beth said as Ron led her to the stairs.

"If anyone can get to Mason, it's you," Ron said as Beth began walking up the stairs.

Beth came up to the top of the stairs and saw Greg sitting outside of a door in the hallway.

"Ah, there you are!" Greg said as he noticed Beth walk up.

"Has he still not come out yet?" Beth asked Greg.

"No, that's why I came to get you," Greg told Beth.

"Give me a few minutes with him," Beth said to Greg as she knocked on the door.

Greg walked away and headed downstairs.

"Mason, it's Beth," Beth said to Mason through the door. "You can't stay in here forever,"

A click was heard coming from the doorknob. Beth turned the doorknob and opened the door. Beth looked inside the room and saw Mason standing by the window.

"Close the door and lock it," Mason said to Beth.

"Why're you in here?" Beth asked Mason as she closed the door behind her. "We haven't seen you since Christmas,"

"I see you liked the necklace," Mason said as he noticed Beth wearing the necklace he got for her.

"I probably would've liked it better had it been properly given to me," Beth told Mason.

Mason walked over to his bed and sat down as he sighed.

"Do you like me?" Mason asked Beth as he had his back turned to her.

"What?" Beth said in confusion. "Of course, you're my friend,"

"No, not like that" Mason said as he looked over his shoulder.

"Oh, you mean like that," Beth said nervously.

"Well?" Mason asked Beth.

"No, we're just friends," Beth told Mason.

"I figured," Mason said as he turned back away. "Is there someone you like?"

"Is this really why you've been hiding in here the past few days?" Beth asked Mason.

"Give me an answer," Mason demanded as he rose to his feet.

Beth groaned in annoyance and turned away from Mason.

"I don't have time for this," Beth said as she went to grab the doorknob.

"Of course you like him," Mason said in disgust as he walked over to the window.

"And who is that?" Beth asked Mason.

"Ever since he showed up you've been this way," Mason said to Beth as he stared out the window.

"Jirou and I have nothing going on," Beth told Mason.

"It is inevitable though," Mason said as he sighed.

"Mason, I'm not dating anyone," Beth said as she approached Mason. "I haven't been in the mood to date anyone ever since my parents got divorced,"

"Well you sure seem to be in the mood when you're with him!" Mason said angrily to Beth. "Ever since he showed up you've helped him on multiple occasions and ignored the rest of us at school before we became Rangers!"

"He needed help Mason," Beth informed Mason. "Jirou was hurt, confused and lost his family and friends when I found him,"

"Leave!" Mason shouted at Beth as he pointed at the door. "Don't come back either,"

Beth walked over to the door as her eyes began watering. Beth went to open the door as she sobbed.

"He's dying Mason," Beth told Mason.

Mason turned towards Beth and saw that she was crying.

"He's going to die by tomorrow, and it's my fault," Beth said as tears ran down her face. "It should've been me that got poisoned,"

"Don't say that," Mason said as Beth fell to her knees crying.

"It's true, he's going to die because of me," Beth said as she punched the floor.

"I'm sorry that I lashed out at you," Mason said as he knelt down next to Beth.

"What do I do?" Beth asked Mason as she looked over at him.

"Go be with him for now," Mason said to Beth as he held his hand out to her.

Beth took Mason's hand and was helped up to her feet.

"What about you?" Beth asked Mason as she wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Give me a little bit to clean up," Mason said to Beth as he opened his door.

"I'll see you at the store later," Beth said as she stepped out of the room.

Mason closed the door as Beth walked away. Mason leaned against his door and slowly slid down to the floor.

"She doesn't just care about Jirou," Mason said as his eyes began watering. "She cares about all of us,"

Beth returned to the antique shop and made her way down into the lab. Beth walked into the lab and saw Jirou lying on a cot with an IV tube stuck in his left arm. Beth approached Jirou and saw that he was still sweating profusely. Beth pulled a chair over next to the cot and sat down beside Jirou.

"You've already lost your friends and family before," Beth said as she grabbed Jirou's hand. "It's not happening again,"

Hitoshi walked into the lab and saw Beth sitting next to Jirou holding his hand.

"Did you talk to Mason?" Hitoshi asked Beth.

Beth gasped and let go of Jirou's hand as she quickly turned towards Hitoshi.

"Yeah, he's okay," Beth told Hitoshi. "He'll probably be back tomorrow,"

"Well, the others are still searching for Toxitea in the city," Hitoshi said to Beth as he sat down in front of his computer.

"I'm assuming they didn't find anything?" Beth asked Hitoshi.

"Nothing at all," Hitoshi said as he continued working on an antidote for Jirou.

"I had a feeling this would happen," Beth said with a worried look on her face. "It looks like we'll have to do what Odius wants,"

"Beth, you and the others can't just hand over your Ninja Power Stars!" Hitoshi told Beth. "For all we know, Odius could fool us with a false antidote,"

"It's the only chance we have at saving Jirou though," Beth said as she rose to her feet.

"Where are you going?" Hitoshi asked Beth as he saw Beth heading towards the door.

"To talk to the others about this," Beth said as the door opened in front of her.

Beth left the lab as Hitoshi sighed.

"Maybe there's a way we can trick Odius?" Hitoshi said as he thought to himself.

Outside of Madame Odius' room on the Galaxy Warriors Ship, Ripcon opened the door to Odius' room and quietly snuck inside. Ripcon made his way up to another door and opened it. As Ripcon stepped into the lab, a computer screen was lighting up the dark room and caught his attention.

"What's this?" Ripcon wondered as he curiously approached the computer.

Ripcon leaned forward and started reading the document opened up on the computer.

"So she poisoned my brother," Ripcon said to himself as he scrolled down.

Ripcon came across a folder and began snickering as he clicked on it.

"If anyone's going to kill my brother, it will be me," Ripcon said as he read the document. "Odius will be furious when she finds out my brother was cured of the poison she created,"

Ripcon closed the folder on the computer and quietly made his way out of the lab.

"Now to inform the Rangers of this cure," Ripcon said as he exited Madame Odius' room.

Later that night, Jun walked down into the base and came into the lab where her father was continuing his work on a cure for Jirou. Jun looked over and saw Beth struggling to stay awake while sitting next to Jirou.

"Maybe you should head home," Jun said to Beth as she walked up beside her.

"I'm fine, but thanks," Beth said as she rubbed her eyes.

"He'll be fine, you don't have to worry about him all night," Jun said as she put her hand on Beth's shoulder.

"Jun's right, you could use some rest," Hitoshi told Beth as he continued working.

"Alright, I'll head home then," Beth said as she rose to her feet.

"Be careful on your way home," Jun said to Beth as Beth left the lab.

Jun turned back around and looked down at Jirou.

"You'll be better tomorrow," Jun said to Jirou. "I promise,"

Jun walked over to her father and looked on the computer as he continued working.

"Any progress?" Jun asked her father.

"Nothing is working," Hitoshi said as he sighed.

"Then I guess we'll have to go with Beth's plan," Jun said as she pulled out her Ninja Power Star.

"Jun, you and the others cannot give up those Power Stars for what could be a fake antidote," Hitoshi explained to Jun.

"What other choice do we have?" Jun asked her father. "Jirou will die tomorrow evening if we don't do something,"

"You won't be giving Odius your Power Star," Hitoshi told Jun as he rose to his feet and made his way over to a table.

Hitoshi pulled a cloth off of the table and revealed another set of the Ninja Power Stars.

"Wait, how is this possible?" Jun said in confusion.

"These are fakes," Hitoshi told Jun as he picked up the fake Red Ninja Power Star. "The only difference is that these do not have power within them,"

"Dad, this could actually work!" Jun said in amazement.

"This still could end badly though," Hitoshi told Jun. "That cure could still be false and have no effect on Jirou,"

"I know, but it's worth the risk," Jun said as she nodded.

"Alright, you go on to bed," Hitoshi said as he patted on Jun's head. "I'll stay up for another hour and try to find a cure,"

"I'll see you in the morning then," Jun said as she walked over to the door.

Hitoshi sat back down in front of his computer as Jun left the lab.

"Come on Hitoshi, the weight is on your shoulders right now," Hitoshi said to himself as he began typing.

In the streets of the city late at night, Beth was making her way back home for the night. Beth came to a halt as she began waiting for a car to go by so she could cross the street. As Beth continued waiting someone began whistling. Beth looked over her shoulder and could hear the whistling coming from an alley behind her.

"I need to speak to you," Someone said from inside the dark alley.

"No thank you," Beth said as she turned away and went to walk across the street.

"Do you not want to save the Red Ranger?" The mysterious person said to Beth.

Beth turned back around and saw a pair of glowing eyes in the alley.

"Who are you?" Beth asked the person as she slowly approached the alley.

"Someone who wants to make sure Madame Odius doesn't get what she wants," Ripcon said as he transformed into Seiji and walked out of the alley.

"Ripcon," Beth said as she went to grab her Ninja Power Star.

"I'm not here to fight you," Seiji said to Beth. "I'm only hear to help you save my brother,"

"Why should I trust you?" Beth asked Seiji.

"Because you and the other Rangers have something in common with me," Seiji informed Beth. "We all hate Madame Odius,"

"How do I know you're not lying and you're trying to help her?" Beth asked Seiji.

"I despise that witch," Seiji said in disgust. "I would be pleased to see her suffer in the flames of hell if I could,"

"So you know how to cure Jirou?" Beth asked Seiji.

"Of course," Seiji said as he smirked. "Odius was a fool and left her documents open on her computer,"

"Tell me how to cure him then," Beth said to Seiji.

"I'm not going to tell you exactly how, but I will give you a hint," Seiji said as he turned away.

"That's not going to save him!" Beth said to Seiji in annoyance.

"Settle down," Seiji said as he began walking away. "The cure is right under your nose,"

"What does that mean?" Beth said in confusion.

"Think of one of your little fairy tales!" Seiji said to Beth as he walked back into the alley.

"Right under my nose?" Beth said as she thought to herself. "And a fairy tale?"

Beth walked across the street still thinking to herself and headed on home.

The next day, Beth arrived at the base and saw the others sitting around the lab. Beth looked over at Jirou in concern and saw him still lying in his cot unconscious. Jun was inspecting the fake Ninja Power Stars as Beth walked over to her and picked up her fake Power Star.

"Hopefully this plan works," Jun told Beth.

"Even if it doesn't, I have a backup one," Beth said to Jun as she sat the Power Star back down.

"You do?" Jun asked Beth. "What is it?"

"Not completely sure yet," Beth said to Jun as she walked over beside Jirou.

"Then how can it be a plan?" Logan said in confusion.

"I just hope Mason comes to his senses and helps us out if things go bad," Ben said as he sighed.

"He'll be there," Beth said to Ben.

An alarm began going off causing Logan to rush over to the computer.

"Buzzcams are in the park," Logan said to the others.

"Let's get out there and get that antidote," Ben said as he followed the others out of the lab.

Over at the Denning residence, Mason was staring at himself in the mirror in his bedroom. Mason sighed and began making his way over to his door. Mason grabbed the doorknob and hesitated to open it.

"Come on Mason, someone's life is on the line this time," Mason said to himself as he opened the door.

Mason stepped out of his room and began making his way towards the stairs. At the bottom of the stairs, Ron was dusting off a vase with a duster. Ron looked up and saw Mason coming down the stairs.

"Ah, I see you've finally decided to leave your room," Ron said to Mason.

"I don't have time to talk Ron," Mason said as he walked past Ron.

"That's fine, just be careful," Ron said as Mason walked out the door.

Ron began humming as he continued dusting off the vase in front of him.

Mason took off running down the street and began making his way to the others who were heading to the park.

"Hang in there Jirou," Mason said to himself as he continued running.

A few minutes later at the park, the other Rangers arrived and saw that no one was around. Jun looked over at Logan and saw him holding the box containing the fake Power Stars cautiously. Evil laughter was then heard causing the Rangers to quickly turn around. Madame Odius was standing alongside Toxitea and a group of Kudabots.

"So, did you bring the Power Stars?" Madame Odius asked the Rangers.

"They're right here," Logan said as he held the box out in front of him.

"Go get them," Madame Odius ordered one of the Kudabots.

The Kudabot walked over to Logan and was handed the box.

"Now where's the cure?" Beth asked Madame Odius.

"Right here," Madame Odius said as she revealed a vile in her hand.

"Hand it over then," Ben said to Madame Odius.

The Kudabot handed the box to Madame Odius.

"Let's see," Madame Odius said as she opened the box.

Madame Odius looked inside the box and saw the six Ninja Power Stars lying inside of it.

"There's only six!" Madame Odius said to the Rangers. "Where's the Green Ninja Power Star?"

"Crap, we forgot Kiyomi's!" Logan said as he covered his face with his hand.

"It looks like you won't be getting the cure!" Madame Odius shouted as she dropped the vile.

"No!" Beth shouted in horror as she watched the vile shatter as it hit the ground.

Madame Odius and Toxitea began laughing evilly as Ripcon hid behind a tree watching.

"Go ahead and finish them off too," Madame Odius said to Toxitea.

"Yes ma'am," Toxitea said as her body began glowing.

"Without your Power Stars, you humans are useless!" Madame Odius said to the Rangers.

"Now here come the fumes!" Toxitea shouted as she laughed evilly.

A blast of water shaped like a dragon suddenly struck Madame Odius and Toxitea and knocked them away from the Rangers.

"Mason!" Ben shouted as Mason ran up with his Ninja Star Blade surrounded by water.

"But how is he transformed without his Power Star?" Madame Odius said in confusion.

"The Power Stars in that box are fakes," Jun said as she revealed her Ninja Power Star.

"That's right, we tricked a trickster," Ben said as he tipped his hat.

"Toxitea, destroy them all!" Madame Odius shouted angrily as she slung the box of fake Power Stars aside.

"Let's finish this tea kettle off and save Jirou!" Beth said to the others as she placed her Ninja Power Star on her morpher.

"Ninja Spin!" The Rangers shouted as they spun the Power Stars on their Morphers and instantly morphed as the Kudabots began running towards them.

Ben ran ahead of the others and blocked a Kudabot's weapon with his Rockstorm Guitar.

"Move over you scrapheap!" Ben shouted as he shoved the Kudabot aside.

"I'm glad to see you're back," Logan said to Mason as he and Mason struck a Kudabot together with their Ninja Star Blades.

"Now's not the time for reunions," Mason said as he pulled Logan towards him.

Mason hurled his Ninja Star Blade at a Kudabot that was sneaking towards Logan and hit it in the chest causing it to fall to the ground with the sword stuck in it.

"Thanks," Logan said as he watched Mason pull his sword out of the Kudabot.

"Stay on your guard," Mason said as he took off running towards Toxitea.

"Here comes the Blue Ranger," Toxitea said to herself as she noticed Mason running towards her.

Toxitea released a cloud of steam causing the entire area to become engulfed in fog.

"How are we supposed to fight something we can't see?" Mason said to himself as he came to a halt.

A blast nailed Mason in the back causing him to fall forward to the ground.

"I can still see you," Toxitea said as she laughed evilly.

Beth walked up on Mason and saw him slowly rise back to his feet.

"Where's Toxitea?" Beth asked Mason.

"I have no idea," Mason said to Beth. "I can't see anything through this fog,"

Mason placed his Ninja Element Star on his Ninja Star Blade.

"This should take care of the fog though," Mason said as he spun the Element Star. "Ninja Water Attack!"

Mason stabbed his Ninja Star Blade into the ground causing a circle of waves to shoot out of the ground around him and Beth.

"What's going on here?" Toxitea said in confusion as the waves approached her.

The wave crashed down on Toxitea and wiped out the fog in the area.

"We can see again!" Jun said as she kicked a Kudabot aside.

"You're up Beth," Mason said to Beth as he stepped back.

"Right," Beth said as she nodded and pulled out her Ninja Master Mode Power Star.

Beth placed the Power Star on her Morpher and spun it causing it to activate.

"Ninja Master Mode!" Beth shouted as she transformed along with her sword.

Toxitea rose back to her feet drenched from the waves.

"It'll take forever for me to dry off!" Toxitea said in frustration.

Toxitea looked over and saw Beth approaching her.

"Uh oh!" Toxitea said in horror.

"This is for what you caused!" Beth shouted as she pulled the ripcord on her Ninja Master Blade.

The shurikens in the blade began spinning as Beth prepared to swing the sword.

"This is for Jirou!" Beth shouted as she swung the Ninja Master Blade at Toxitea.

Beth hit Toxitea with a powerful slash easily tearing Toxitea in half and causing her to explode.

"Nice going Beth!" Logan said as he and the others ran up.

The Rangers Ninja Comms suddenly began going off as the Rangers demorphed.

"What's wrong Hitoshi?" Beth asked Hitoshi as she answered the Ninja Comm.

"Jirou's conditions are getting worse!" Hitoshi said in horror. "I don't think he has much time!"

"Not even defeating Toxitea could cure him," Mason said in concern.

"No, but I know something that will," Beth said as she began walking away.

"Really, what?" Ben asked Beth as he and the others chased after Beth.

The Rangers returned to the base and hurried into the lab where Hitoshi was standing beside Jirou. Jirou's heartrate was increasing with every passing second. Jun turned away in horror as everyone else stood near him in concern.

"Come on Beth, we don't have much time!" Ben said to Beth.

"Hold on," Beth said as she thought to herself.

"What do you know about this?" Mason asked Beth.

"Ripcon said something to me last night on my way home," Beth told the others. "He told me that the cure was right under our noses,"

"What does that mean?" Ben said in confusion.

"It could mean that the cure is obvious," Logan told Ben.

"Or it's literally right under our noses," Mason said as his eyes widened. "Or in this case, Beth's,"

"Did he say anything else?" Jun asked Beth.

"Yeah, that the cure is related to some kind of fairy tale," Beth told the others.

Mason snapped his fingers as he began smirking.

"I know what it is!" Mason said to the others.

"What is it?" Hitoshi asked Mason.

"Our mouths are right under our noses," Mason said as he pointed at his mouth.

"What does that have to do with a fairy tale though?" Logan said in confusion.

"Sleeping Beauty!" Beth said as her eyes widened.

"That's it!" Mason said as he pointed towards Beth.

"Wait, doesn't that mean Beth must kiss Jirou?" Logan asked the others.

Beth's face turned red as everyone looked towards her.

"Oh, I guess that's right," Beth said nervously as she twiddled her fingers.

"Hurry up and get it done before he dies!" Jun told Beth as she pulled her towards him.

"Fine!" Beth said as she pulled her arm away from Jun.

Beth gulped nervously as she slowly leaned down above Jirou.

"Just do it!" Logan shouted at Beth.

Beth gently kissed Jirou on the lips and quickly rose back up as Jirou's body began glowing.

"I think it worked!" Hitoshi said as dark purple fumes began exiting Jirou's body and fading away.

"Please," Beth said quietly to herself as Jirou's heartrate began slowing down.

Jirou's eyes slowly opened and revealed Beth standing above him.

"What's going on?" Jirou asked Beth as he struggled to lean up.

"Stay down, your body is still weak from the poison," Beth said to Jirou as her eyes began watering.

Jirou looked over and saw the others smiling at him.

"Did I miss something?" Jirou asked Beth.

"Yeah, quite a bit," Beth said as she smiled and wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Well Beth did just kiss you," Ben told Jirou.

"What?" Jirou said in confusion as Beth looked towards Ben with an evil glare.

"Keep your mouth shut!" Beth shouted at Ben.

"Am I not supposed to tell him that he almost died?" Ben said as he shrugged his shoulders.

"Shut up!" Mason shouted at Ben as he slapped Ben's hat off his head.

On board the Galaxy Warriors ship, Ripcon made his way into the control room where Madame Odius and Galvanax were waiting on him. Ripcon sighed as he leaned against the wall.

"I wouldn't be getting so comfortable if I were you," Madame Odius said to Ripcon.

"Oh and why's that?" Ripcon asked Madame Odius as he leaned off the wall.

"Because you helped the Power Rangers," Galvanax said to Ripcon.

"Is this a joke?" Ripcon asked Galvanax.

"Madame Odius caught you sneaking into her lab on camera," Galvanax told Ripcon.

"And somehow the Red Ranger is miraculously cured of the virus I created for Toxitea to infect him with," Madame Odius said to Ripcon.

"Then it appears you were just outsmarted by the Rangers," Ripcon said as he chuckled.

"Then explain the audio file we received from a Buzzcam where we hear you speaking to the White Ranger," Galvanax said as he held a Buzzcam in his hand.

"Fine, I did give the White Ranger a hint at how to cure the Red Ranger," Ripcon told Galvanax.

"So he admits it," Madame Odius said as she crossed her arms.

"I did it because I want to be the one to destroy the Red Ranger," Ripcon said as he looked over at Madame Odius. "I'm not a coward; I'm a warrior who will kill anyone who stands in my way with my blades,"

"Then that's what you'll do," Galvanax said as he rose to his feet.

"What?" Ripcon asked Galvanax.

"You will be the next warrior we send down to Earth," Galvanax said as he pointed at Ripcon. "So you better get to training,"

"Whatever, at least I get what I want from this," Ripcon said as he stormed out of the room.

Ripcon turned a corner and stopped as he punched the wall.

"That damn eavesdropper ratted me out!" Ripcon said in frustration. "Once I'm done with Jirou, she will be next,"

Back at the antique shop, Jirou was lying in his bed reading the book he was given to him by Kiyomi's grandfather. The door slowly opened causing Jirou to look away from the book. Beth walked into the room with a paper bag in her hand.

"What's that?" Jirou asked Beth as he closed the book.

"Just a snack from the sandwich shop down the street," Beth said as she sat the bag down on the desk next to Jirou's bed.

"Thanks," Jirou said as he grabbed the bag.

Beth went to walk out the door as Jirou opened the bag.

"Is it true?" Jirou asked Beth.

Beth came to a halt and slowly looked back at Jirou.

"What?" Beth asked Jirou.

"Did you really kiss me?" Jirou asked Beth as he smirked.

"Ask me that again and I'll make sure I don't save you next time," Beth said as she walked out the door.

Beth closed the door as Jirou chuckled and left him by himself.

"He seems to be doing better already," Mason said as he walked up.

"Yeah, he does," Beth said as she nodded.

"He's lucky to have someone like you in his life," Mason said as he turned away from Beth.

"Can people stop acting like we're a thing because I kissed him?" Beth said in annoyance. "I had no choice!"

"Oh you'll be doing more than kissing when the times right," Mason said as he headed downstairs chuckling.

"Mason Denning I'm going to make you regret saying that!" Beth shouted angrily as she ran after Mason downstairs.

Inside Jirou's room, Jirou sighed while reading his book after hearing the commotion outside his room.

"Man, teenagers are so immature these days," Jirou said as he turned the page in his book.

Jirou closed his book and set it aside. He reached into the bag and pulled out a sandwich and took it out of the paper wrapped around it.

"Oh come on, she knows I hate mustard," Jirou said in disgust when he saw that there was mustard on his sandwich.


	14. Chapter 13

Chapter 13: Ripcon's Resurgence

At the antique shop, Jirou walked down into the base and saw Jun and Ben training together. Jun swept Ben off his feet with a leg sweep and caught Jirou's attention. Ben hit the ground with a thud and dropped his training sword.

"Man, I didn't see that coming," Ben said as he leaned up.

"Concentration is important when in a battle," Jirou said to Ben as he sat down on a bench.

"Do you want to show him what you mean?" Jun asked Jirou.

"If it's alright with you," Jirou said as he smirked.

"Alright, you two go ahead and show me what you can do," Ben said as he rose to his feet.

Jirou rose back to his feet and was handed the wooden sword from Ben.

"Give me all you've got," Jirou said to Jun as he readied himself.

"Will do," Jun said as she began glowing.

Ben watched in awe as clones of Jun surrounded Jirou in the blink of an eye.

"This will be interesting," Jirou said as one of Jun's clones began approaching Jirou.

Jirou quickly turned around and swung the sword at Jun's clone. The clone blocked Jirou's sword leaving him wide open for the others.

"It's not going to be that easy!" Jirou shouted as he flipped over another clone.

Jirou kicked the clone in the back causing it to bump into the other one.

"I've got you now!" Jun shouted as she went to sweep Jirou's legs out from under him.

Jirou jumped as Jun went for the sweep causing her to miss.

"Silence is another key," Jirou said as he pointed his sword at Jun.

"Jun is pretty bad at keeping her mouth shut," Ben said as he chuckled.

"Shut up!" Jun said in frustration as her clones vanished.

"None of us are perfect," Jirou told Ben and Jun. "We all still have things to learn,"

"Agreed," Ben said as he nodded.

"Where's everyone else?" Jirou asked Jun and Ben as he sat the wooden sword against the wall.

"Logan is helping dad with a new Ninja Power Star," Jun told Jirou. "Mason was here earlier training, but he had to go help his dad with something,"

"I haven't seen Beth today," Ben said as he wiped his face off with his towel.

"Dad let her off for the day so she could spend more time with her mom before we head back to school Monday," Jun said to Ben.

"Well, you two keep up the training," Jirou said as he walked towards the lab door. "I'll go check in on Logan and Hitoshi,"

Jirou grabbed the door handle and tried to open the door.

"Why's it locked?" Jirou asked Jun.

"I guess they don't want us to see this new Power Star," Jun said as she shrugged her shoulders.

"You could keep training with us," Ben said to Jirou.

"Alright, I guess I will," Jirou said as he walked back to the center of the room.

"You two go ahead and keep training," Jun said as she picked up her towel. "I'm going to go check on things upstairs,"

"See you later," Ben said as he and Jirou began warming up.

On board the Galaxy Warriors ship, Ripcon was fighting a group of Kudabots in a training room by himself. On the wall was a Buzzcam recording Ripcon tearing through the Kudabots with his swords. Galvanax snickered as he watched Ripcon on his monitor defeat the Kudabots with ease.

"Is that enough training now?" Ripcon asked Galvanax as he stared up at the Buzzcam.

Ripcon tore a Kudabot's head off his sword and tossed it aside.

"I am ready to go after the Red Ranger!" Ripcon shouted at the Buzzcam.

"Should I send him down?" Cosmo asked Galvanax.

"Yes, go ahead," Galvanax said as he leaned back in his throne.

"Here's hoping he doesn't disappoint this time," Cosmo said as he walked out of the room.

"He's going to get himself killed," Madame Odius told Galvanax as she walked over to Galvanax.

"Not if he takes on the Red Ranger one on one," Galvanax said as he rose from his throne.

"And how is that supposed to happen?" Madame Odius asked Galvanax.

"We'll send down every Kudabot and Basher Bot we have and they will distract the other Rangers," Galvanax said as he clenched his fist.

"You really think those rust buckets can hold off the other Rangers long enough?" Madame Odius asked Galvanax.

"Not at all, but Cosmo has upgraded the Buzzcams with signal jammers," Galvanax told Madame Odius. "The Rangers will not be able to locate or communicate with the Red Ranger once he and Ripcon begin battling,"

"Not bad," Madame Odius said as she nodded.

"Now we just need to wait and watch Ripcon tear that brat apart," Galvanax said as he sat back down.

At the antique shop, Jirou walked back upstairs and saw Mason enter the shop. Mason walked up to the counter and sat down as he sighed.

"You're lucky you don't have a family member who is a magician," Mason said to Jirou.

"Why's that?" Jirou asked Mason as he sat down at a table.

"I had to help my dad catch his rabbits," Mason said as he covered his face in embarrassment.

"That doesn't sound hard at all," Jirou said as he leaned back in his seat.

"Did you hunt rabbits or something back in the day?" Mason asked Jirou.

"Not just rabbits," Jirou told Mason. "Deer, pigs, wolves, even big cats,"

"Sounds like fun," Mason said sarcastically as he looked away.

"Oh it was," Jirou said as he chuckled. "You wouldn't last a minute against a pack of wolves,"

"I bet I wouldn't!" Mason said as he nodded.

Mason and Jirou's Ninja Comms suddenly began going off. Jirou rose from his seat and quickly answered his Ninja Comm.

"We've picked up Buzzcam signals coming from the park," Hitoshi said to Jirou and Mason through the Ninja Comms.

"Alright, Mason and I will head out there and check it out," Jirou said to Hitoshi.

"Yeah, we'll contact you guys if we need backup," Mason said into his Ninja Comm.

"Let's get going before something bad happens," Jirou said to Mason as they ran out the door.

Mason and Jirou arrived in the park and looked around the area from the hill. Mason groaned as he didn't see any signs of danger.

"Hitoshi, there's nothing here," Jirou said to into his Ninja Comm.

"Stay on your guard," Hitoshi said to Jirou. "It could be a trap,"

"See anything?" Jirou asked Mason as he lowered his Ninja Comm.

"No, not a thing," Mason said as he looked out in the distance. "Just people enjoying their time here,"

"Maybe you ninja just aren't looking in the right place," Someone said to Jirou and Mason.

Jirou and Mason looked up above them in the tree and saw Ripcon drop down at them. Jirou rolled out of the way as Ripcon dropped down and grabbed Mason with his sword held to Mason's neck.

"Let him go Seiji!" Jirou shouted at Ripcon.

"Do not call me by that name!" Ripcon shouted at Jirou as his eyes began glowing.

"What do you want?" Jirou asked Ripcon.

"Get him off of me Jirou!" Mason said as to Jirou as he began sweating.

"What I want is a battle," Ripcon said to Jirou. "Just between you and I,"

"Don't listen to him!" Mason said to Jirou.

"Fine, when will the battle occur?" Jirou asked Ripcon.

"Tomorrow evening," Ripcon informed Jirou. "In the forest,"

"Whatever, just let Mason go," Jirou said to Ripcon.

Ripcon shoved Mason towards Jirou and lowered his sword.

"If you are late or try to bring backup, many people will die," Ripcon said as he turned away from Jirou.

Ripcon teleported away and left Mason and Jirou near the tree.

"Are you actually going to go through with this?" Mason asked Jirou.

"I don't have a choice," Jirou said as he sighed.

Back at the antique shop, Beth walked down into the base downstairs and saw everyone but Logan and Hitoshi sitting around the training room. Beth noticed Jirou had a worried look on his face and began walking towards him.

"What happened?" Beth asked Jirou.

"Ripcon jumped us earlier," Mason told Beth as he leaned against the wall.

"That's not all he did," Jirou said as he rose to his feet. "He wants me and him to battle tomorrow,"

"Are you going to do it?" Beth asked Jirou.

"I have to," Jirou said as he sighed. "Seiji said he would kill people if I didn't show up or more than just me showed up,"

"So you have to go by yourself?" Beth asked Jirou.

"Yeah, that's right," Jirou said as he crossed his arms.

"There has to be a way that we can help you," Ben said to Jirou.

"Please don't get involved," Jirou said to Ben. "I don't want any innocent people to get killed,"

"Can you even handle Ripcon on your own?" Jun asked Jirou.

"I'm not sure, but I believe I can," Jirou told Jun.

"Well, I know you can," Beth said to Jirou.

"We will be ready if things go south," Mason said to Jirou.

The lab doors slid open allowing Logan and Hitoshi to step out of the lab.

"We might have something for Jirou to use against Ripcon," Hitoshi said to the others.

"What's that?" Jirou asked Hitoshi.

"It's a new Ninja Star that uses the power of all six of your Ninja Power Stars," Hitoshi told Jirou.

"It's called the Ninja Fusion Star," Logan said as he revealed the gold Power Star in his hand.

"Logan already put his powers into the Fusion Star," Hitoshi said as Logan handed him the Fusion Star. "I just need the rest of you to leave your Ninja Power Stars in the lab tonight,"

"Sounds good to me," Mason said as he pulled out his Ninja Power Star.

"If it will help Jirou defeat Ripcon," Jun said as she handed her father her Power Star.

"I'll make sure I have this done before you guys get out of school tomorrow," Hitoshi said as he held the Ninja Power Stars in his arms.

"I just hope this thing has enough power to stop Seiji," Jirou said as he handed Hitoshi his Power Star.

"I'm certain it will," Hitoshi said as he nodded.

"I'm going to head on home," Mason said as he began walking towards the exit. "There's no telling what else will happen tomorrow,"

"Yeah, I'm about to go on to bed," Jun said as she stretched her arms.

"I'll see you guys tomorrow," Jirou said as Beth, Ben and Logan walked out behind Mason.

"Are you going to head to bed?" Jun asked Jirou.

"No, I'll stay down here and train for about an hour," Jirou said to Jun as he picked up a wooden sword.

"Alright, don't stay up too late," Jun said as she walked out of the training room.

Hitoshi stepped back into the lab and left Jirou by himself training in the training room.

"Seiji, I'll try and save you tomorrow," Jirou said to himself as he swung the wooden sword. "I promise,"

In the middle of the night, Ripcon was standing on a tower of the Dorado Bay Bridge staring out at the city's lights in the distance. Ripcon crossed his arms as a Buzzcam flew towards him and watched it land on the bridge's suspenders.

"Cosmo needs to hurry up and send down more of those Buzzcams," Ripcon said to himself. "He's taking his time setting them up with explosives,"

Ripcon looked over and saw another Buzzcam land on the tower beside him.

"In just a few hours, I will be victorious against my brother," Ripcon said as his eyes glowed in the dark.

The next day, Hitoshi was watching the Ninja Nexus Prism glow as both the Gold Ninja Power Star and the Ninja Fusion Power Star were inside of it spinning. Both of the Power Stars flew out of the Ninja Nexus Prism and were caught with ease by Hitoshi.

"I don't have long before the kids are out of school," Hitoshi said as he sat the Gold Ninja Power Star aside.

Hitoshi threw the Ninja Fusion Star back into the Ninja Nexus Prism causing it to begin glowing again.

"Now it's just red left," Hitoshi said as he picked up the Red Ninja Power Star.

Hitoshi threw the Red Ninja Power Star into the Ninja Nexus Prism causing the Prism to glow even brighter. The two Ninja Power Stars shot out of the Ninja Nexus Prism and were caught by Hitoshi. Hitoshi looked down at the Ninja Fusion Star and saw it glimmering in the light on its golden blades.

"It's done," Hitoshi said as he smirked.

Hitoshi sat the Red Ninja Power Star beside the other Ninja Power Stars.

"This Power Star will give Jirou just what he needs to take down Ripcon," Hitoshi said to himself as he gazed at the Ninja Fusion Star.

Over at the high school, the bell began ringing as students rushed out the door celebrating. Jirou slowly stepped outside and looked around at the other students enjoying their day as Beth and the others walked out behind him.

"Are you sure you want to fight your brother?" Beth asked Jirou.

"I don't have a choice Beth," Jirou said as he turned towards his friends. "I will battle him,"

"You better go grab your Ninja Power Star from the shop then," Jun said to Jirou.

"Do you any have a plan?" Logan asked Jirou as he and the others followed Jirou down the street.

"I just need to stay calm and use Ripcon's anger against him," Jirou said to Logan.

"Well, we'll be watching you from the base hopefully," Mason said to Jirou as he walked by him.

"Yeah, who knows what Ripcon has up his sleeve," Ben said as he walked up behind Jirou.

The Rangers continued on down the street heading towards the antique shop across the city.

Standing on the tower of the bridge, Ripcon was gazing at the vehicles driving by down below. Ripcon began snickering with his arms crossed and looked over towards the sun.

"I knew he would be running late," Ripcon said in frustration.

Ripcon leapt off of the tower and began falling down towards the bridge below. Ripcon landed on the bridge kneeling down on one knee causing a car to slam on the brakes. Another car crashed into the back of the car in front of Ripcon causing a traffic jam.

"No one will be leaving this bridge!" Ripcon shouted at people as they began exiting their vehicles screaming while running away.

Jirou pulled up to the end of the bridge on his Mega Morph Cycle in his ninja gear and saw a force field beginning to surround the bridge.

"What have you done Seiji?" Jirou said in horror as he heard people screaming for their lives on the bridge.

Jirou pulled up his facemask and took off running onto the bridge as the force field came down. Jirou watched the force field completely surround the bridge as people ran by him trying to escape.

"We can't get off the bridge!" A man shouted as he banged on the force field with his fist.

"I just want my daughter off this bridge!" A woman shouted as she hugged her daughter.

Jirou continued further down the bridge and ran by more people running towards where he entered.

"All these people are involved when it should just be Seiji and me," Jirou said as he continued running.

Jirou climbed on top of a trailer connected to a diesel truck and looked up ahead. Further down the bridge was Ripcon watching people run away in horror.

"I need to get to him without being spotted," Jirou said as he looked over.

Jirou climbed off of the trailer and ran over to a cable on the side of the bridge and began climbing up it. Jirou came up to the suspender and slowly rose to his feet.

"Stay balanced," Jirou said calmly to himself as he slowly began walking across the suspender.

Jirou came to a halt as he reached the first tower and looked down at Ripcon below.

"This bridge has Buzzcams all over it," Jirou said as he noticed a Buzzcam hidden on the tower near him.

Jirou looked back down at Ripcon and saw him approaching a car.

"Do you humans not want to play?" Ripcon said as he slammed his hands on the hood of the car causing the people inside to scream.

"Please leave us alone!" The man behind the wheel shouted in horror. "We have a child in here with us,"

"Mom!" The little boy in the backseat said in fear as his mother looked back at him.

"Everything will be okay sweetie," The mother said to her son.

Ripcon walked over to the backdoor on the passenger side and tore the door off the car with ease.

"Scotty!" The mother shouted in horror as Ripcon grabbed her son by the arm and drug him out of the car.

"Let go of my son!" The father shouted as he quickly got out of the car.

"Oh you don't want to come at me," Ripcon said to the boy's father as he held onto Scotty tightly.

"Dad, do something!" Scotty pleaded to his father as he cried.

Up on the tower, Jirou saw Ripcon torturing the boy and his family.

"It's time," Jirou said as he sighed.

Jirou pulled out a rope with a hook tied on the end of it. Jirou secured the hook on the tower and prepared to jump.

"I hope I don't screw this up!" Jirou said as he jumped while holding the rope in his hand.

Scotty's father slowly took a step towards Ripcon causing Ripcon to pull out one of his swords.

"Go ahead and take another step," Ripcon said to Scotty's father. "This bridge is rigged with explosives,"

"Oh my god!" Scotty's mother said in horror.

"One more step and you'll all die," Ripcon said as he snickered.

As Ripcon began laughing Jirou came swinging down and rammed into Ripcon causing him to let go of Scotty. Ripcon crashed into the side of a diesel trailer and fell to the ground.

"You okay kid?" Jirou asked Scotty as Scotty's father was hugging him.

"Yes, thanks to you," Scotty said to Jirou as he looked up at him.

"Are you some kind of ninja?" Scotty's father asked Jirou.

"I guess you could say that," Jirou said as he nodded.

Ripcon rose back to his feet enraged and saw Jirou standing in front of the people.

"So you finally decided to show up," Ripcon said as he picked his sword up off the ground as he approached Jirou.

"Get to safety!" Jirou shouted at Scotty and his parents as he saw Ripcon coming at him.

As the civilians ran away, Jirou jumped back and narrowly avoided Ripcon's sword as it was swung at him.

"Seiji, please don't make me do this!" Jirou said to Ripcon as Ripcon approached him again.

"Do not call me that!" Ripcon shouted angrily as he swung at Jirou again.

Jirou rolled out of the way causing Ripcon to miss again.

"I won't fight you!" Jirou shouted at Ripcon.

"Then I'll just blow this bridge to pieces!" Ripcon shouted as he pulled a device out.

Jirou quickly threw ninja stars at Ripcon and stuck him in his arm. Ripcon screamed in pain as he dropped the device.

"You're not going to kill these people!" Jirou said to Ripcon.

"Try and stop me!" Ripcon shouted as he pulled the ninja stars out of his arm.

Back at the base, Hitoshi and the other Rangers were watching the news where a helicopter was at the Dorado Bay Bridge. The helicopter flew over the bridge as the camera zoomed in at Jirou and Ripcon fighting.

"The commotion on the bridge looks to be caused by one of the monsters that have been appearing around Dorado Bay as of late," The newswoman said as the camera continued aiming down at Jirou and Ripcon. "There appears to be someone battling the monster however,"

"It looks like a ninja," The cameraman said to the newswoman.

"You've got to be joking," The newswoman said in disbelief.

"Why isn't Jirou morphing?" Mason said in confusion.

"He might be trying to wear out Ripcon before using up too much power," Logan guessed as he kept his eyes on the screen.

"I know Jirou will win," Jun said as Beth stepped away from the monitor.

"You alright?" Ben asked Beth as he noticed her sitting by herself in the back of the room.

"I'm just a little worried," Beth told Ben as Ben walked over to her.

"Everything will be alright," Ben said to Beth. "You just need to believe in Jirou,"

"Something just doesn't feel right about this though," Beth said to Ben.

"I've got to agree with Beth," Hitoshi said as he focused on the monitor. "Ripcon seems to be up to something,"

Back at the bridge, Jirou dove aside as Ripcon fired a blast at him from his hand. Jirou rolled behind a car to catch his breath as the helicopter flew by overhead. Ripcon looked up at the helicopter and chuckled.

"Look at that brother," Ripcon said to Jirou as he approached the car. "We're on TV,"

Ripcon walked around the car and gasped when he saw that Jirou was gone.

"Hopefully they catch this on camera then!" Jirou shouted as he grabbed Ripcon by his horns.

Jirou flipped over Ripcon and slammed his face onto the hood of the car as her landed on the roof. Jirou jumped off the car as Ripcon quickly rose back up enraged.

"Your mind games won't stop me!" Ripcon shouted as he pulled out his second sword.

"Let the people go and I'll give you the fight you want," Jirou demanded to Ripcon.

"Not a chance in hell," Ripcon said as his swords began glowing.

"Then I guess it's time to end this," Jirou said as he prepared for the attack.

"You won't survive this!" Ripcon shouted at Jirou. "Double Sword Doom Strike!"

Lightning began surrounding Ripcon's swords as he prepared to attack Jirou. Ripcon swung his swords horizontally and then vertically and sent four energy slashes flying towards Jirou. Jirou began running towards the attack causing Ripcon to gasp.

"What is he doing?" Ripcon said in confusion.

Jirou dove through the middle of the energy slashes and rolled back to his feet with ease. Jirou continued running towards Ripcon as the energy slashes hit a car behind him causing an explosion.

"You're wide open!" Jirou shouted as he hurled a small black ball at Ripcon.

The ball exploded in Ripcon's face surrounding him in smoke instantly.

"I'm getting sick of these tricks!" Ripcon shouted as he began swatting the smoke away with his swords.

Ripcon felt something wrap around his arms and upper body causing him to drop his swords.

"What's this?" Ripcon said as the smoke cleared.

Ripcon noticed a chain wrapped around him.

"Damn you!" Ripcon shouted as he looked up ahead and saw Jirou holding the chain in his hand.

"Tell me something," Jirou said to Ripcon. "Why did you leave our village?"

"I left that hellhole because our father ran it into the ground!" Ripcon shouted at Jirou as he struggled to break free.

"You're lying," Jirou said as he stomped in anger.

"Like you would know," Ripcon said as he snickered.

"Oh, I know alright," Jirou said as he pulled Ripcon towards him.

Jirou kicked Ripcon upside the head with a swift roundhouse kick causing Ripcon to fall to the ground.

"You left because you were weak compared to the others," Jirou said to Ripcon. "You didn't want to train and brought shame to our family name,"

"Shut up!" Ripcon shouted as he rose back to his feet.

"Admit it!" Jirou shouted at Ripcon. "You released this demon's spirit thinking it would make you stronger!"

"That's right, and it did make me stronger," Ripcon said as a red aura surrounded his body.

Ripcon screamed angrily as he tried to break out of the chains again. The chains shattered with ease causing Jirou to gasp in astonishment.

"You shouldn't have ticked me off," Ripcon said as he looked over at Jirou with his glowing eyes.

"There's what I've been waiting for," Jirou said as he tossed the remains of the chain aside.

Jirou pulled out his morpher and placed his Ninja Power Star on it.

"Ninja Spin!" Jirou shouted as he spun the Ninja Power Star activating his morpher.

Jirou instantly morphed and pulled out his Ninja Star Blade.

"I'm going to enjoying killing you this time," Ripcon said as he held his hand out.

One of Ripcon's swords flew towards his hand and was caught by Ripcon with ease.

"No one's dying while I'm around," Jirou said to Ripcon as he prepared for battle.

"We'll see about that!" Ripcon shouted as he dashed towards Jirou.

Jirou sidestepped causing Ripcon to run right past him. Ripcon retaliated by quickly turning around and heading towards Jirou again.

"Here we go," Jirou said as he pulled out his morpher and transformed it into its Blade Mode.

"Time for my swords to soak in your blood!" Ripcon shouted as he swung both his swords at Jirou.

Jirou blocked both of Ripcon's swords with his own. The two fighters began slashing at each other continuously but repeatedly clashed swords.

"It appears you have gotten better!" Ripcon said to Jirou as he continued swinging at Jirou.

"Yeah, or you've just gotten rusty," Jirou said as he knocked Ripcon's sword away with his Battle Morpher.

Jirou struck Ripcon across the chest with the blade of his Battler Morpher causing Ripcon to instantly jump back away from him.

"That was a lucky shot," Ripcon said as he looked down at the cut on his chest.

"That wasn't luck," Jirou said as his Battle Morpher transformed into Bow Mode. "It was skill,"

Jirou fired an arrow at Ripcon and watched as Ripcon caught the arrow with ease in his hand.

"You're not fast enough," Ripcon said as the arrow dematerialized in his hand.

"I'm just getting warmed up," Jirou said as he placed a Ninja Power Star on his sword. "Ninja Clone Star!"

As Jirou spun the Ninja Power Star, a cloud of smoke surrounded Jirou.

"What is he up to?" Ripcon wondered as he watched carefully.

Five Red Ninja Steel Rangers leapt out of the smoke and surrounded Ripcon.

"Oh, one of the dumbest ninja tricks in the books," Ripcon said as he chuckled.

"Ninja Blaster!" The five Red Rangers shouted as they fired at Ripcon.

The five laser whips from the Ninja Blasters wrapped around Ripcon immobilizing him.

"This won't hold me for long," Ripcon said as he struggled to break free.

A red blur shot out of the smoke and was speeding towards Ripcon.

"What's that?" Ripcon said in confusion.

"Red Ranger Ninja Strike!" Jirou shouted as he went towards Ripcon at a blinding speed.

"Not happening!" Ripcon shouted as his eyes began glowing brightly causing a shockwave to fire out in front of him.

Jirou was hit by the shockwave and sent him crashing onto the hood of a car. Jirou rolled off the car in pain and saw his clones fade away.

"I was positive that was going to work," Jirou said as he used his sword as leverage to get up.

Jirou noticed Ripcon walking towards him and rose back to his feet.

"You're not the only one that can move in the blink of an eye," Ripcon said as he continued walking towards Jirou.

Jirou gasped in astonishment as he saw Ripcon vanish and instantly appear in front of him.

"I've got you now!" Ripcon shouted as he grabbed Jirou by the head and slammed his head down on the hood of the car.

Ripcon continued to slam Jirou's head on the car causing smoke to begin emitting from the hood.

"I will make you suffer!" Ripcon shouted as he continued bashing Jirou's head on the car.

Ripcon slung Jirou across the bridge causing his limp body to bounce and skid across the ground. Ripcon began laughing manically as his body began glowing again.

"Go ahead and get up!" Ripcon shouted at Jirou as his swords were surrounded with lightning. "Because it will be the last time you stand before me!"

Jirou struggled to get up and dropped back to the ground.

"I can't beat him," Jirou said to himself as he lied motionless on the ground. "Not by myself,"

As Jirou lied on the ground, he began hearing someone crying in a car behind him. Jirou slowly rose up and saw a woman begin screaming in her car.

"Get out of here!" Jirou shouted as he struggled to his feet.

"I can't!" The woman shouted at Jirou. "My seatbelt is stuck!"

"Burn in hell brother!" Ripcon shouted as he swung his swords. "Double Sword Doom Strike!"

Ripcon sent the energy slashes spiraling towards Jirou as the woman in the car saw the attack flying towards her as well. The woman screamed in horror as she shielded her face with her arms. Jirou spread his arms and took the attack head on causing it to explode on contact. Ripcon laughed evilly as smoke erupted into the air from the explosion.

"It's over!" Ripcon shouted as he lowered his swords.

Back at the Ranger's base, Hitoshi and the other Rangers watched the footage from the news helicopter in horror after watching Jirou get hit by Ripcon's attack. Mason looked over at Beth and saw a look of horror on her face.

"No, Jirou," Logan said in astonishment.

"He had to have survived that!" Ben said to the others.

Mason groaned in frustration and began making his way to the exit.

"Where are you going?" Hitoshi asked Mason as he turned around in his chair.

"I'm going to go kill that freak!" Mason shouted at Hitoshi.

"And how do you plan to get through that force field?" Hitoshi asked Mason.

"I'll figure out a way," Mason said as the door opened behind him.

Mason stormed out of the lab as the others stood by watching.

"If Jirou is alive, he needs help," Jun said to her father.

"Yeah, and so do those people who will die if Ripcon catches any of you there," Hitoshi told his daughter.

"No one's going to die," Beth said as she looked down. "Not while we're still here,"

"That's right," Ben said as he nodded. "We're going to take down that force field and send Ripcon running away with his tail between his legs,"

"I might have a way to get through the force field," Logan said as he walked over to a cabinet.

Logan opened the cabinet and pulled out a device.

"What is that?" Jun asked Logan.

"An electromagnetic pulse emitter," Logan said as he held the device out in his hand.

"That just might work," Hitoshi said to Logan as he placed his hand on his shoulder.

"The only question is how long it'll last," Jun said to Logan.

"Not long, it's still a prototype," Logan said as he put the device in his pocket.

"As long as it can get us through that force field, I don't care," Beth said as she began walking towards the exit.

"Then let's go save Jirou and take down Ripcon once and for all," Jun said as she smirked.

The Rangers hurried out of the lab and headed back upstairs and left Hitoshi alone by himself in the lab.

"Good luck Rangers," Hitoshi said as he smirked. "Hopefully that new Ninja Power Star will do the trick,"

Back out on the Dorado Bay Bridge, people began approaching where the explosion occurred. A man helped the woman who was trapped in her car out as the smoke began clearing. The woman gasped when she saw the Red Ranger lying on the ground motionless.

"Is he dead?" The man asked the woman.

"Ah, I'm amazed you people all came to see what I did," Ripcon said to the humans.

"He killed the Red Ranger," A man said in disbelief.

"Where are the other Rangers?" Another man said as he looked around in confusion.

"Move away so I can make sure he's dead!" Ripcon shouted at the people as he began walking towards them and Jirou.

"You're not going to do anything to him," A police officer said as he stepped out in front of the crowd aiming his gun at Ripcon.

"Yeah, you'll have to get through us first!" A woman shouted as she stepped up beside the police officer.

A water bottle suddenly hit Ripcon in the head. Ripcon looked over and saw the little boy from earlier squeeze through the crowd.

"Scotty!" Scotty's mother shouted in horror as she saw her son up ahead.

"You people make me sick," Ripcon said as he began glowing.

Ripcon knelt down and picked up the device that was lying by his foot.

"I guess it's time for you all to die!" Ripcon shouted as more people began stepping forward.

"We're not afraid of you!" Scotty shouted at Ripcon.

"What is with these people?" Ripcon said in confusion.

Over at the end of the bridge where the force field stops, the other Rangers pulled up on their Mega Morph Cycles. Logan pulled out the EMP device and looked down at it in his hand.

"We only have one shot to get in there," Logan said to the others.

Mason walked up to Logan and snatched the device from him.

"Hey!" Logan shouted as he went to grab the device back from Mason.

"If anyone is going in there, it's going to be me," Mason said as he pushed Logan away.

"You don't even know how to use that!" Logan said to Mason in frustration.

"Then you better hurry and tell me," Mason said as he walked up to the force field.

"Mason, are you sure about this?" Ben asked Mason.

"You don't have to do this Mason," Beth said to Mason.

"Yeah I do," Mason said as he chuckled. "If I didn't, then you would,"

Logan walked up beside Mason.

"All you need to do is hold the device towards the Buzzcams nearby that are creating the force fields," Logan explained to Mason. "Then press that red button until the light turns green,"

"Got it," Mason said as he nodded.

"You won't have long to get through," Logan told Mason. "The device will likely short circuit within a few seconds,"

As Mason looked down at the device, a horde of Basher Bots suddenly appeared behind the Rangers. Ben turned around and saw the Basher Bots approaching him and the others.

"Guys, that's a lot of tin men!" Ben said in disbelief.

"Holy crap!" Logan said as he looked over.

"Get going Mason!" Jun said to Mason as she pulled out her sword.

"Don't go down like Jirou," Mason said to the others.

"Please, this will be a piece of cake," Beth said as Mason aimed the device at a Buzzcam that was sitting on a nearby cable.

Mason pressed the button on the EMP device which caused the Buzzcam to power down. A small hole in the force field appeared as the EMP device began shooting out sparks.

"Hurry!" Logan shouted at Mason as Logan dodged a Bash Bots staff.

Mason dove through the hole as it began to close. Mason quickly turned around and saw the others fighting off the Basher Bots.

"We'll come back for you guys!" Mason said to the others.

Mason took off running on up ahead as the others continued fighting off the Basher Bots.

On up the bridge, the people trapped on the bridge were blocking Ripcon from getting to Jirou. Ripcon groaned in frustration and went to press the button on the device in his hand. Jirou slowly began regaining his consciousness and could hear people yelling around him.

"What's going on?" Jirou said in confusion as he rose up.

Jirou looked up ahead and saw a wall of people standing between him and Ripcon. Jirou noticed something was wrong with his helmet and placed his hand on the busted out part of his visor.

"How am I still alive?" Jirou asked himself.

"You people will soon all go up in flames!" Ripcon shouted as he threatened to press the button.

Jirou saw Ripcon about to press the button on the remote control.

"No!" Jirou shouted as he began running towards Ripcon.

Jirou ran through the crowd as his right hand began glowing. Ripcon looked up ahead and gasped when he saw Jirou running towards him.

"How are you still standing!" Ripcon shouted in disbelief.

"Seiji!" Jirou shouted angrily as he reared his fist back.

Jirou's right fist continued glowing as Jirou lunged forward towards Ripcon.

"This is for betraying our family!" Jirou shouted as he socked Ripcon in the face with his fist.

As Jirou's fist made contact with Ripcon's face, Ripcon was sent careening across the bridge slamming into multiple vehicles. Jirou lowered his fist as he breathed heavily with the people cheering in the background.

"That's what I'm talking about!" A man shouted as he cheered with the others around him.

Jirou looked over his shoulder and saw all the people cheering for him.

"What was that?" Jirou said in confusion as he looked down at his hand.

Mason ran up and saw the crowd cheering as Jirou stood before them.

"Wait, did he beat Ripcon?" Mason wondered as he slowly walked towards the crowd.

Mason squeezed through the crowd and walked up to Jirou.

"Hey, how did you get in here?" Jirou asked Mason.

"I'm surprised that you're still standing after eating that attack," Mason said to Jirou.

"That doesn't explain how you got through the force field," Jirou said as he sighed.

"Easy, Logan made an EMP device to shut down a Buzzcam long enough for one of us to get in," Mason told Jirou.

"Where are the others then?" Jirou asked Mason.

"They're at the end of the bridge fighting off a bunch of Basher Bots," Mason told Jirou.

"Then we better hurry and take down this force field," Jirou said as he began walking towards the side of the bridge.

The bridge suddenly began rumbling causing Jirou to stumble down to one knee.

"Oh no!" Jirou said in horror.

"What is it?" Mason asked Jirou.

"He's coming back!" Jirou said to Mason as he rose back to his feet.

"Then let's kick his ass together," Mason said as he pulled out his Ninja Star Blade.

"No, he can't see you," Jirou told Mason. "This is between me and him,"

"Fine," Mason said as he crossed his arms.

Mason held his Ninja Star Blade out to Jirou.

"What?" Jirou asked Mason as he looked down at the Ninja Star Blade.

"You're going to need two swords," Mason said as he nodded.

Jirou took Mason's Ninja Star Blade and began readying himself for Ripcon.

"Give that new Power Star a try," Mason said to Jirou as he knelt behind a truck.

"Oh yeah," Jirou said as he reached down to the side of his belt and pulled off the new Power Star.

A car exploded up ahead causing the people behind Jirou to begin running away in horror.

"I'm not finished with you!" Ripcon shouted at Jirou angrily.

"Seiji, I'm sorry," Jirou said as he placed the Ninja Fusion Star on his Ninja Star Blade.

"You will now die!" Ripcon shouted as he jumped towards Jirou.

Jirou blocked Ripcon's sword with Mason's Ninja Star Blade and kicked Ripcon away from him. Jirou quickly spun the Ninja Star causing his Ninja Star Blade to glow red and Mason's in his other hand to glow blue.

"Ninja Fusion Fury!" Jirou shouted as he readied to attack. "Final Attack!"

"Oh no you don't!" Ripcon shouted as he pulled out his other sword. "Double Sword Doom Strike!"

Ripcon sent the energy slashes from his swords flying towards Jirou as Jirou crossed his two swords causing three other swords to appear before him glowing pink, white and yellow. The three swords touched tips and formed a shield in front of Jirou blocking Ripcon's attack. Ripcon's attack faded away as the three swords surrounded Ripcon by stabbing into the ground around him. Electrical waves began shooting from the swords and trapped Ripcon between them.

"I can't move!" Ripcon shouted as he struggled to break free.

"Goodbye brother!" Jirou shouted as he ran up to Ripcon and struck him with both of his swords once.

Jirou struck Ripcon once again with both swords at once as Ripcon tried to retaliate. Jirou leapt back away from Ripcon as the five Ninja Star Blades merged together causing the blade on Jirou's to grow larger.

"Jirou please don't!" Ripcon shouted in horror.

"Seiji, I would've saved you if I had a chance!" Jirou shouted as he prepared to attack.

Jirou struck Ripcon with the large bladed sword and sliced through him with ease.

"Galvanax will destroy you damn ninjas!" Ripcon shouted as he fell to the ground and exploded.

Mason's Ninja Star Blade returned to him as he stepped out from behind the truck. As the smoke began clearing around Jirou, the Buzzcams on the bridge began short circuiting causing the force field to disappear.

"He actually did it," Mason said in amazement. "And all by himself,"

Mason began walking towards Jirou as Jirou dropped down to his knees.

"He's gone," Jirou said as he began sobbing.

"Hey, we need to get back to the others before the authorities get here," Mason said to Jirou as he pulled him up by the arm.

"Yeah, you're right," Jirou said as he sniffled.

Mason and Jirou took off running down the bridge as sirens were heard in the distance.

Back at the end of the bridge Jun pulled her Ninja Star Blade out of a Basher Bot's chest as Mason and Jirou ran up reuniting with the others. Logan and Beth looked over and saw that Jirou's helmet was damaged and ran over to check on him.

"Is Ripcon gone?" Logan asked Jirou.

"Yeah," Jirou said as he looked down in sorrow.

"We're just glad you're okay," Beth told Jirou as she placed her hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, we can't sit here much longer," Ben said to the others as sirens were heard approaching.

"Let's get out of here so the authorities can do their job," Jun said as she began walking away.

A large blast shot down from the sky and hit the Dorado Bay Bridge. The Rangers turned around in horror as a hole was blasted through the bridge.

"No, are they really doing this?" Jirou wondered.

"I think we know what's happening," Mason said in horror.

Inside of the beam, Ripcon's body reformed and fell into the ocean through the hole. Ripcon suddenly regained consciousness as his body began growing. An enormous Ripcon rose out of the water snarling evilly.

"Ripcon!" Ben said in disbelief.

"Of course they'd do this," Jun said as she pulled out her Zord Star as Ripcon began making his way to the city.

"We can't let him get to the city," Beth said to the others.

"Yeah, but something is different about him," Jirou said to everyone else.

"What do you mean?" Logan asked Jirou.

Ripcon's swords began glowing as lightning surrounded them.

"Summon the Zords now!" Jirou shouted as he placed his Zord Star on his sword.

The Rangers quickly activated their Zord Stars as Ripcon continued preparing to attack the city. The news helicopter from earlier flew by Ripcon and began recording the scene.

"The monster that was on the bridge is gigantic now!" The newswoman said in horror.

Blasts suddenly began hitting Ripcon causing him to stumble and drop his swords. The newswoman looked out the other side of the helicopter and saw the Ninja Steel Megazord and Bull Rider Megazord making their way towards Ripcon.

"The Rangers are here with their Megazords!" The newswoman said in relief.

"Seiji!" Jirou shouted at Ripcon from inside the Megazord. "You need to stop!"

Ripcon reached down into the water and grabbed his swords as he groaned angrily.

"Is something wrong with him?" Beth asked Jirou.

"Yeah, he's not talking," Logan said to Jirou.

"The demon spirit must have taken full control when he grew," Jirou said as the Megazord continued walking towards Ripcon.

Ripcon quickly struck the Megazord as he ran by it.

"Settle down partner!" Ben shouted as his Megazord fired at Ripcon once again.

Ripcon knocked the blasts away and quickly began making his way towards the Bull Rider Megazord. Ripcon struck the Bull Rider Megazord twice causing sparks to shoot out of Ben's console in the cockpit.

"He's stronger than any other giant monster we've faced!" Ben said to the others as the Ninja Steel Megazord walked up to help.

Ripcon turned towards the other Megazord and fired a lightning blast towards it. The blast struck the Megazord causing it to easily fall over into the water.

"Not even two Megazords can beat him!" Mason said in frustration.

"I think we might need the Rumble Tusk or Astro Zords to help us out," Beth said to Jirou.

"No, that won't be enough," Jirou said as he pulled out the Ninja Fusion Star.

"What's that going to do?" Jun asked Jirou.

"It's going to show the bad guys why they will never stop us," Jirou said as he placed the Ninja Fusion Star on his sword.

Jirou spun the Ninja Fusion Star as the Ninja Steel Megazord rose out of the water. As Ripcon was striking the Bull Rider Megazord repeatedly with his swords, the two Megazords began glowing.

"What the heck?" Ben said in confusion.

"Activate Ninja Fusion Zord transformation sequence!" Jirou shouted as a blinding light emitted from the Ninja Fusion Star.

The two Megazords leapt into the air leaving Ripcon down below in the water. The Bull Rider Megazord disassembled causing Ben to appear in the cockpit with the others. The legs of the Bull Rider Megazord attached to the bottom of the Ninja Steel Megazords feet. The Ninja Steel Megazord's head detached allowing a large piece of the Bull Rider Megazord to attach on top of the Megazord. The arms of the Ninja Steel Megazord detached from the body and reattached to the large part of the Bull Rider Megazord that just attached to the Megazord. The arms of the Bull Rider Megazord attached onto the end of the Nitro and Dragon Zord creating larger fists for the Megazord. The Robo Rider jumped onto the top of the Megazord as the Ninja Steel Megazord and Bullzord's heads formed a large headpiece on top of him. The eyes of the new Megazord lit up as the Bull Rifle and Drago Sword and Drago Shield combined and formed a larger sword.

"Ninja Fusion Zord, ready!" The Rangers shouted as the larger Megazord landed in the water where Ripcon was waiting.

Ripcon snarled angrily at the Ninja Fusion Zord as it towered above him.

"Man, this thing is huge!" Ben said in amazement.

"Now we've got what it takes to finish him off for good," Beth said as Ripcon began running towards the Megazord.

Ripcon roared loudly as two Skullgators rose out of the water next to him.

"That's still not enough to stop us," Jirou said as prepared for the final attack.

The two Skullgators merged together and transformed into a sword as Ripcon began making his way towards the Megazord. Ripcon ran up to the Megazord and went to attack it with his new sword but was blocked easily by the Ninja Fusion Zord's sword. The Ninja Fusion Zord struck the sword in Ripcon's hand causing it to split back into two Skullgators.

"Now for the finish!" Jirou shouted as the others readied to attack.

"Ninja Fusion Zord Master Slash!" The Rangers shouted as the Megazord's eyes began glowing.

The Megazord swung it's sword downward followed by a side slash and sent two energy slashes flying towards the monsters. The two slashes hit the three monsters easily wiping out the Skullgators. As the smoke cleared, Ripcon slowly fell into the ocean and exploded as the Megazord turned away from him.

"And that's the end of Ripcon!" Mason shouted as he twirled his sword around.

Beth looked over at Jirou and saw him not celebrating with the others.

"Hey, something just appeared on the beach!" Ben said to the others.

Jirou looked down and saw someone appear on the beach below.

"No, it can't be!" Jirou said in disbelief.

Jirou quickly leapt out of the Megazord and landed on the beach with the others right behind him. Jirou pulled off his helmet and tossed it aside as he ran over to the unconscious person.

"Seiji!" Jirou shouted as he dropped to the ground to check on his brother.

"Is it really him?" Jun asked Jirou as Jirou held Seiji in his arms.

Seiji slowly opened his eyes and saw Jirou above him staring down at him.

"Thank you brother," Seiji said to Jirou as he slowly began smiling.

Seiji suddenly fainted as his body began glowing.

"No, stay with me!" Jirou shouted as his eyes began watering.

Seiji's body slowly faded away in Jirou's arms as Jirou screamed in sorrow. The other Rangers watched as Jirou continued crying. Jirou began punching the ground in frustration as Beth knelt down beside him and took off her helmet.

"It's alright," Beth said as she hugged Jirou. "He might be gone, but at least you freed him from Ripcon,"

"He's all that I had left," Jirou said as he cried in Beth's arms.

"No he wasn't," Jun said as she walked up. "You still have us and dad,"

"Besides, Seiji will still be with you," Ben said to Jirou. "In your heart,"

"Thank you guys," Jirou said as Mason and Logan walked over.

Beth help Jirou to his feet as Jirou wiped the tears from his eyes. Jirou looked up towards the sky and clenched his fist.

"Norio, I'm going to make you pay!" Jirou shouted angrily towards the sky. "No, Galvanax,"

Inside of the control room on the Galaxy Warriors ship, Galvanax was sitting in his throne where Cosmo and Madame Odius were sitting in front of him. Galvanax rose from his throne and sighed as he looked out the window beside him.

"Ripcon is no more," Galvanax said to the others.

"It's a shame," Cosmo said as he sniffled.

"Why didn't you tell us he was related to you?" Madame Odius asked Galvanax. "Is there anything else you're hiding from us?"

"I could ask you the same question," Galvanax said as he looked out of the corner of his eye at Madame Odius.

Madame Odius sneered as she looked away from Galvanax.

"Now we take things to the next level," Galvanax said as he sat back down.

"And I have the perfect idea for that," Madame Odius said as she pressed a button on the console next to her causing a video to play on the screen.

On the screen were men digging. The Buzzcam slowly panned over and showed Kiyomi and her father watching the men dig.

"What is this about?" Galvanax asked Madame Odius.

"Do you know what they're searching for?" Madame Odius asked Galvanax.

Galvanax began chuckling as he saw a statue sticking out of the ground on the monitor.

"They're searching for that legendary Ninja Power Star and the ancient Zord that goes with it," Galvanax said as he leaned forward.

"That's correct," Madame Odius said as she nodded.

"Should we go after it?" Cosmo asked Galvanax.

"No, not yet," Galvanax said as he rose back to his feet. "We'll let them continue searching for now, but we will attack once they find it,"

"Sounds good to me," Madame Odius said as she turned off the video.

"With that Zord and Power Star, we will be unstoppable!" Galvanax said as he clenched his fist.


	15. Chapter 14

Chapter 14: Duty Calls!

A few days after the incident on the Dorado Bay Bridge, Hitoshi was standing before the Rangers silently waiting for Logan to show up. Mason leaned back against the wall with his arms crossed and sighed in boredom. Hitoshi looked down at his phone to check the time as he cleared his throat.

"Well, I guess we'll just have to fill Logan in later," Hitoshi said to the others.

"What is this about exactly?" Ben asked Hitoshi.

"We're here to talk about what's next for us against the enemies," Jirou told Ben as he rose from his seat.

"We still have Odius and Norio to worry about," Hitoshi said to the Rangers.

"No, he doesn't go by Norio anymore," Jirou told Hitoshi.

"That's right, Ripcon mentioned someone called Galvanax," Mason informed Hitoshi.

"I don't understand why Norio would change his name though?" Hitoshi said as he thought to himself.

"With Ripcon gone, I'm sure they'll amp things up too," Beth said to the others.

"We'll just keep getting stronger then too," Mason said as he smirked.

"Speaking of getting stronger," Jirou said as he looked over at Mason. "When was the last time you trained your magic?"

Mason's eyes widened in embarrassment as he quickly looked away.

"Jirou has a point," Hitoshi said to everyone. "You should all start training more often,"

"Are you serious?" Ben said as he threw his arms up.

"Just be sure to inform Logan of this," Hitoshi said as he headed back into the lab.

"You had to open your mouth," Mason said to Jirou as he glared over at him.

"Hey settle down!" Beth said to Mason as she stepped out in front of him. "You saw how close Jirou was to dying,"

"Yeah, I don't want something like that to happen to any of us ever again," Jun said as she got up out of her seat. "That's why I'm going to start training more seriously,"

"And someone needs to start practicing his spells," Ben said as he smiled.

"Can it cowboy," Mason said as he walked across the room.

"Where are you going?" Jirou asked Mason as Mason walked by him.

"I'm going to go find Logan," Mason said as he opened the door. "I have a good feeling I know where he is,"

"Alright, just hurry and get back here before we're done," Jirou said to Mason as Mason walked out the door.

Jirou turned towards the others and saw them standing around the room.

"Come on, let's get started," Jirou said as he walked over to the weapon rack.

Out in the city, Logan was walking out of a comic book shop. As Logan was looking down at his comic book reading it he bumped into Mason.

"As I figured," Mason said as Logan put his comic book back in the bag.

"What's up?" Logan asked Mason.

"We've been waiting for you at the base for a while now," Mason told Logan. "And you ditch out on us with your nerdy needs,"

"Did I miss something important?" Logan asked Mason.

"Sort of," Mason said as he sighed. "We're kicking our training up to the next level,"

"But I don't have time to train today or tomorrow," Logan told Mason as the two walked down the street side by side.

"How come?" Mason asked Logan.

"I'm going to a convention tomorrow," Logan told Mason as he pulled a card out of his pocket.

Logan handed the card to Mason.

"Logan, you can't ditch out on training for this crap!" Mason said to Logan.

"According to you?" Logan asked Mason.

"Hitoshi wants us to train more, not go to nerdy conventions," Mason said as he handed the card back to Logan.

"Fine, I'll go to my nerdy convention while you guys work your butts off," Logan said as he walked on up ahead.

Mason stopped walking and groaned in annoyance.

"Oh this isn't good," Mason said to himself.

Standing on the stage inside of the Galaxy Warriors ship was Cosmo waving to the crowd as they cheered. A monster suddenly ran out onto the stage jogging in place as Cosmo held the microphone up to his mouth.

"Freaks and creeps it is time for a new contestant to take a chance at becoming the best of the best!" Cosmo shouted to the crowd as the monster continued jogging in place beside him.

"Yeah, I will make those Rangers eat dust with my incredible speed!" The monster shouted as he ran circles around Cosmo at blinding speed.

"Settle down!" Cosmo shouted as he tried to hold onto his hat from the wind the monster was creating.

"Speed is also not my only trick!" The monster said to the crowd. "You will see what I'm capable of once I'm down on Earth!"

"You heard Shoespike folks!" Cosmo said as he raised his arm into the air. "Let's send him down and see what he's made of!"

Shoespike began glowing and instantly vanished as Cosmo began laughing maniacally.

"Here we go!" Cosmo shouted as the screen behind him turned on and he stepped out of the way.

Down on Earth, Shoespike landed next to a truck at the convention center. Shoespike looked around the truck and saw men carrying boxes into the convention center. Shoespike began rubbing his hands together as he snickered.

"I've got an idea!" Shoespike said as he began glowing.

Shoespike transformed into a man resembling one of the movers and stepped out from behind the truck.

"Hey, we need some help with these boxes," One of the workers told Shoespike.

"I've got you pal!" Shoespike said as he pulled a box out of the back of the truck.

"We need to get all this set up before the convention starts tomorrow," The man told Shoespike as the two of them carried the boxes inside.

"We can get it done," Shoespike said as he smirked.

Back at the antique shop, Mason returned to the base while the others were training together. As Jirou blocked Ben's sword with his own, Jirou noticed something was troubling Mason. Jirou and Ben lowered their swords and made their way over to Mason.

"Did you find Logan?" Ben asked Mason.

"Yeah, but he's not going to be training with us," Mason said as he crossed his arms.

"He can't skip out on this," Jirou said as he grabbed his towel. "He's going to be left behind which will cause all kinds of problems for the team,"

"I'm going to make sure he comes here tomorrow," Mason said to Jirou. "He's not ditching training again over a stupid convention,"

"Logan works his butt off helping dad make our gear," Jun said as she blocked Beth's sword. "Just let him have some fun for once,"

"Now's not the time for fun," Jirou said to Jun as he watched her and Beth continue training.

"I know you want to finish off Galvanax and his crew, but we have lives to live," Jun said as she dodged Beth's sword by leaning back. "Let Logan have fun for once before going off on him,"

"Fine, but Mason will be with him tomorrow," Jirou said as he tossed his towel to the floor.

"If anything fishy happens I'll let you guys know," Mason said as he nodded.

"We'll be here if you need us," Jirou said to Mason.

The next day the convention center, Logan and Mason were standing outside in a line of people waiting to be let into the convention center. Logan reached into his backpack and pulled out a comic book as he smiled.

"I can't wait to get the creator of Mr. Amazing to sign this original issue!" Logan said in excitement as the line slowly began moving.

"Yeah, I can't wait," Mason said sarcastically as he followed Logan on up the line.

"You didn't have to come you know?" Logan told Mason as he looked over his shoulder.

"Someone had to watch your back in case things went south," Mason informed Logan as Logan handed his ticket to the person at the door.

"Just don't ruin this for me," Logan said as he turned towards Mason and saw Mason hand his ticket to the worker.

"I won't," Mason said as he walked up to Logan. "I just want my pal to be safe,"

Logan gasped as he saw a standee cutout of a masked man with blonde hair.

"What's so great about this guy?" Mason asked Logan as he looked at the cutout of Mr. Amazing.

"He's amazing," Logan said as he shrugged his shoulders.

"Very funny," Mason said as he rolled his eyes while Logan headed on up ahead.

Standing at a booth was a suspicious man selling sneakers. As Logan and Mason walked by the booth, the man began snickering.

"I knew at least one of them would be here," The man said as his eyes flickered red.

The man picked up a shoe off the table and continued snickering.

"They're in for a surprise when they see what happens to the people who bought my shoes," The man said as a woman walked up to his booth.

A few moments later, Logan was standing in line to meet the creator of the Mr. Amazing comics while Mason stood by. Mason looked at the shoes of the people in line and noticed everyone's shoes were the same aside from Logan's.

"Is this a trend or something?" Mason wondered as he leaned against the wall.

"Why yes it is!" The man from earlier said as he walked up holding a pair of shoes. "These sneakers have everything!"

"I'm not the type that cares about footwear," Mason told the man. "As long as it fits I don't care what people say,"

"But these bad boys let the air flow inside!" The man said to Mason.

"I don't care," Mason said as he looked away.

The man's eyes suddenly began glowing.

"Trust me, you will love these babies," The man said as Mason looked back over at him.

Mason's eyes flashed as he rose up from against the wall.

"Sure, I'll take them I guess," Mason said as the man handed him the shoes.

"You won't regret it, I assure you," The man said as he smiled evilly.

Mason sat down on a bench and took off his shoes and put on the new ones he just received.

"They're not so bad after all," Mason said as he rose to his feet.

Mason glanced over and saw that the man was now gone.

"I guess he went to giveaway more shoes," Mason said as he looked back over at Logan.

Logan came up to the front of the line and saw the writer of his comic before him.

"How're you doing?" The man asked Logan.

"Great!" Logan said in excitement. "I'm a huge fan Mr. Hanson,"

"Yeah, that's what they all say," The man said as he chuckled.

Logan pulled out his comic and handed it to Mr. Hanson.

"Wow, this is an original copy of issue one!" Mr. Hanson said in astonishment.

"It was my dad's," Logan told Mr. Hanson.

"You want me to sign it don't you?" Mr. Hanson asked Logan.

"Of course, that would be great!" Logan said as he smiled.

Mr. Hanson picked up a marker off the table and pulled the comic out of its sleeve. As Mr. Hanson began writing on the comic, Logan noticed Mr. Hanson's shoes.

"Hey, what's with everyone wearing those shoes around here?" Logan asked Mr. Hanson.

"They're cool aren't they?" Mr. Hanson told Logan as he smiled.

"I guess?" Logan said in confusion.

The logo on the shoes suddenly began glowing causing Mr. Hanson to freeze in place.

"Are you okay?" Logan asked Mr. Handson.

Logan then gasped as he saw Mr. Hanson's body turn to gold.

"What the heck?" Logan said in confusion.

"Logan!" Mason shouted as he noticed the people in line behind Logan turning to gold.

Logan looked over at Mason and saw him making his way to him. Mason froze in place and instantly turned to gold next to Logan.

"Mason!" Logan said in horror as he saw his friend standing in front of him turned to gold. "What's going on here?"

"I'll tell you," The shoe salesman said as he walked out from behind a woman who was turned to gold.

"What did you do to them?" Logan asked the man.

The man began glowing as he laughed evilly. The man transformed into Shoespike right in front of Logan.

"Those shoes were created using my powers," Shoespike told Logan. "It looks like your shoes stick out like a sore thumb!"

"Sorry, but I got these shoes last week," Logan said as he pulled out his morpher.

Logan placed his Ninja Power Star on his morpher and prepared to morph.

"Ninja Spin!" Logan shouted as he spun the Ninja Power Star on his morpher causing him to transform.

Logan transformed his morpher into its Claw Mode and took off running towards Shoespike.

"Eat this!" Logan shouted as he went to strike Shoespike.

Shoespike dashed aside in the blink of an eye causing Logan to miss.

"Did I mention that I'm the fastest freak around?" Shoespike asked Logan.

"It's going to take more than speed to stop me," Logan said as he put his morpher away and pulled out his Ninja Star Blade.

Shoespike ran up to Logan and rammed into him causing Logan to crash into a booth causing it to collapse.

"You're not going to defeat me," Shoespike told Logan as Logan crawled out of the collapsed booth.

Logan placed his hand on his wrist and gasped.

"Where's my Ninja Comm?" Logan said in confusion.

Logan looked over at Mr. Hanson's booth and saw his backpack sitting on the table.

"I left it in my backpack," Logan said as he rose back to his feet. "I need to get it and contact the others or hope they figure out what's going on,"

Shoespike shoulder blocked Logan instantly causing Logan to crash into a table at another booth.

"Face it Yellow Ranger, you won't be making it to the finish line," Shoespike said to Logan as he chuckled.

"I still have gas in the tank," Logan said as he tossed a t-shirt aside that was lying on him as he rose up.

Inside the Ranger's base, Jirou and Ben were training with their actual swords as Beth and Jun stood by watching in awe. Ben swung his Rockstorm Guitar at Jirou causing Jirou to retaliate by easily knocking Ben's weapon away with his Ninja Star Blade. Jirou lowered his sword and walked over to the bench and sat down.

"We still haven't heard anything from Mason or Logan," Jirou said as he wiped the sweat from his face with his towel.

"I guess we overreacted a bit about monster attacks," Ben said as he held his Rockstorm Guitar over his shoulder.

"I'm going to go take a look at the computer in the lab," Jun said as she walked over to the doorway to the lab.

"Yeah, let's take a break and go check on Mason and Logan," Beth said as she rose to her feet.

Jirou and Ben followed Beth into the lab as Jun sat down in the computer seat and brought up the map. Jun brought up a camera feed outside of the convention center and noticed that nobody was around.

"Is it just me or is there a severe lack of people at this convention?" Beth asked the others.

"Maybe they're all inside?" Ben guessed as he shrugged his shoulders.

"Maybe," Jun said as she moved to a camera inside.

Jirou noticed a gold statue on the screen and pointed at it.

"They're either showing off a lot of gold statues, or something is going on," Jirou said to the others.

"Let me check another camera inside the center," Jun said as she changed the camera.

Beth gasped when a line of gold statues was shown on the screen.

"That's not actual statues," Ben said in horror. "That's innocent people turned to gold,"

"Let's get down there and make sure Logan and Mason are safe," Jirou said as he turned away and walked towards the exit.

"I tried contacting them and neither one of them would answer," Jun said as she rose from the computer chair.

"Then we need to hurry," Ben said as he and the others followed Jirou out of the lab.

Inside of the convention center, Logan was trapped as Shoespike was running around him in a circle keeping him from escaping. Logan went to escape and was pummeled by Shoespike making Logan fall to the ground.

"I can't do anything!" Logan said in frustration.

"Just hand over your Power Star and I'll be on my way," Shoespike said to Logan as he continued running circles around Logan.

"No, you're not getting my Power Star," Logan said as he rose back to his feet.

"Then I'll take it by force!" Shoespike shouted as he dashed towards Logan.

A blast hit the ground in Shoespike's path towards Logan causing Shoespike to come to a halt.

"Who's butting in my business?" Shoespike said as he looked over.

The other Rangers ran up beside Logan ready for battle. Jirou lowered his Ninja Blaster as he stepped forward.

"You're not taking anyone's Power Stars," Jirou told Shoespike.

"Guys, thanks for coming," Logan said to the others.

"Why didn't you contact us?" Jun asked Logan.

"I left my Ninja Comm in my backpack," Logan said as he sighed.

"Its fine, we were able to get here in time to back you up partner," Ben said to Logan as he nodded.

"Stop yapping and start fighting!" Shoespike shouted as he dashed towards the Rangers.

Moving at blinding speed, Shoespike continuously struck each of the Rangers as he ran around them. The five Rangers fell to the ground as Shoespike stopped in front of them laughing evilly.

"This guy is fast!" Ben said in astonishment.

"We need to use that speed against him somehow," Jirou said as he rose back to his feet.

"That's it!" Logan said as he jumped to his feet.

"Basher Bots come on out!" Shoespike shouted as a group of Basher Bots appeared around him.

"We'll try and keep this creep busy for you Logan," Beth said as the Basher Bots ran towards the Rangers.

As Logan stayed back the other Rangers began battling the Basher Bots.

"Let's see," Logan said as he began looking around while the others fought the Basher Bots.

Logan noticed fire sprinklers hanging from the ceiling and quickly pulled out his Ninja Blaster.

"This just might work," Logan said as he aimed up at the fire sprinkler.

Jirou ran up to Shoespike and swung his Ninja Star Blade at him. Shoespike disappeared from in front of Jirou and instantly appeared right behind him. Shoespike kicked Jirou in the back causing Jirou to crash into a table at a booth.

"Not even the Red Ranger is quick enough to take me on," Shoespike said as he crossed his arms.

Logan fired a blast at the fire sprinkler and hit it causing it to begin going off along with the other fire sprinklers in the convention center.

"What's going on here?" Shoespike said in confusion as he became drenched in water.

"Let's see that speed now Shoespike!" Logan shouted as he ran out in front of Shoespike.

"With pleasure," Shoespike said as he cracked his knuckles.

As Shoespike readied to dash towards Logan, Ben struck a Basher Bot that was sneaking up behind Logan.

"I've got your back!" Ben said to Logan as he ran off to fight the other Basher Bots.

Shoespike began running towards Logan and slipped as he stepped in a puddle of water on the ground. Shoespike slid across the convention center at full force and crashed into another booth.

"Looks like you're having hydro plane problems," Logan said as he pulled out the Ninja Master Mode Power Star.

Logan placed the Power Star on his Ninja Star Blade and activated it.

"Ninja Master Mode!" Logan shouted as the armor appeared on his body while his Ninja Star Blade transformed.

Shoespike rose from the destroyed booth and saw Logan activate his Ninja Master Blade.

"I'm not losing right at the finish line!" Shoespike shouted as Logan walked towards Shoespike.

Shoespike began running towards Logan once again and started to stumble after stepping in another puddle. Logan struck Shoespike with a powerful slash and destroyed Shoespike instantly.

"And the Yellow Ranger crosses the finish line by a hair!" Logan shouted as he powered back down to his normal form.

As the other Rangers walked over to Logan, the people turned to gold began turning back to normal. Mason gasped as he turned back to normal. Mason began looking around and saw the others nearby.

"What happened?" Mason asked the others.

"You were turned to gold for wearing those terrible shoes," Logan told Mason as he pointed down at Mason's shoes.

"At least you guys took care of that monster that caused this," Mason said as the convention center began rumbling.

The Rangers ran outside and saw a large beam tower hitting the ground reforming Shoespike's body as it grew larger.

"Mason, get somewhere private and catch up with us," Jirou said to Mason.

"Will do," Mason said as he nodded.

Mason ran off as Jirou and the others pulled out their Zord Stars.

"Summon Zords!" Jirou shouted as he and the others activated their Zord Stars on their swords.

The Rangers entered each of their Zords and came up to where Shoespike was still growing from the beam. The beam faded away and revealed a revived Shoespike towering above skyscrapers in the city.

"We'll need to limit his movements," Logan said as the mechanical arms in the back of the Nitro Zord began tossing caltrops towards Shoespike.

"I'll turn this city to dust!" Shoespike said as he began running towards the Zords.

Shoespike stepped on the caltrops causing him to stumble to the ground in pain.

"My feet!" Shoespike shouted in pain as he grabbed one of his feet.

"Nice going Logan!" Jirou said as the Robo Red Zord ran up beside the Nitro Zord.

Shoespike slowly rose to his feet and groaned in annoyance as he looked over at the Rangers.

"Let's take this guy down!" Ben said as he rolled up on his Bull Rider Zord.

"I'm not going down that easily!" Shoespike said as he began running towards the others.

Blue flames hit Shoespike causing him to fall over. The Dragon Zord flew by overhead and went over to the other Zords.

"Welcome to the party," Jun said to Mason.

"Let's just get this over with," Mason said as he knelt down on the head of his Zord.

Jirou pulled out the Ninja Fusion Star and placed it on his Ninja Star Blade.

"Activate Ninja Fusion Zord Formation!" Jirou shouted as he spun the Power Star on his sword.

The six Zords began glowing as they began combining. Shoespike rose back to his feet and saw the Zords finish combining and land on the ground across from him.

"This thing's in a whole other league!" Shoespike said in fear.

"Master Slash!" The Rangers shouted as the Robo Red and Robo Rider Zords began glowing.

The Megazord's sword began glowing from the energy from the Robo Red and Robo Rider Zords as it rose the sword into the air. The Megazord swung its sword downward and struck Shoespike with full force causing the ground to begin shaking momentarily.

"That's a DNF for me!" Shoespike shouted as he fell to the ground and exploded.

"Ninja Rangers, we just crossed the finish line!" Logan said in celebration.

Back at the convention center, Logan ran up to Mr. Hanson's booth and saw that his backpack was gone. Logan looked under the table as he became even more worried. Mr. Hanson walked up behind Logan and cleared his throat causing Logan to bump his head on the underside of the table.

"Oh, it's you!" Logan said as he rose to his feet.

"Yeah, I was looking for you," Mr. Hanson said to Logan.

"This place is a mess now," Logan said as he looked over at the workers cleaning up the damage caused by Shoespike.

"Yes it is," Mr. Hanson said in agreement.

Mr. Hanson pulled Logan's backpack out from behind his backpack and held it out to Logan.

"You forgot this at my booth earlier," Mr. Hanson said to Logan.

"Oh thank goodness!" Logan said as he took his backpack. "I thought someone had stolen it,"

"I can understand you leaving it behind," Mr. Hanson said as he chuckled. "I don't want to imagine what that monster that caused this ruckus looked like,"

Logan reached into his backpack and pulled out his comic that Mr. Hanson had signed.

"At least this beauty is still okay," Logan said in relief.

"Keep that thing safe kid," Mr. Hanson said as he patted on Logan's shoulder.

"Oh, I will!" Logan said as he smiled.

"Keep an eye on my social media account too," Mr. Hanson told Logan as he began walking away. "You'll like what you see,"

"Will do!" Logan said as he watched Mr. Hanson walk away.

Logan put his comic back into his backpack and pulled out his phone.

"Time to repeatedly refresh his page," Logan said as he headed towards the front.

As Logan exited the convention center, the others were standing outside waiting for him. Logan was staring down at his phone as he walked up to the others and bumped into Mason.

"Hey, watch where you're going dork!" Mason said to Logan causing Logan to look up.

"Sorry!" Logan said as he lowered his phone.

"It's a shame the convention had to close early today," Beth said to Logan as she was sitting on a bench.

"Yeah, but it'll be open again tomorrow," Logan told Beth.

"You and Mason should come back again tomorrow then," Jirou said to Logan.

"No, I'm not going back in there," Mason said in disgust.

"It's fine, I got what I came for," Logan said as he smirked. "I need to catch up in training with you guys anyway,"

"Are you sure?" Jun asked Logan.

"Yeah, I'm positive," Logan said as he nodded.

"Then you better start running," Ben whispered into Logan's ear.

"Wait, why?" Logan said in confusion.

"Because the last one back to the store has to clean up after closing!" Ben shouted as he got a head start.

"Oh come on!" Logan shouted in frustration as the others ran off after Ben.

Logan took off running after the others as the sun began setting behind the skyscrapers in the background.

Out at a dig site on Kiyomi's family's island, men were at work digging in the area as Kiyomi and her father watched from outside of the hole. Kiyomi's father sighed in disappointment and turned away from the men at work.

"We've been searching for this for a while now," Kiyomi's father said to her.

"And we're so close to finding it!" Kiyomi told her father. "Just give them a little more time,"

"I don't know if I can," Kiyomi's father said as he closed his eyes.

"Hey, I found something!" A man shouted from the dig site.

Kiyomi looked over and saw the man brushing at something in the dirt. Kiyomi slid down the slope and ran over to the man.

"What is it?" Kiyomi asked the man.

"It's some type of tablet with drawings of lions on it," The man said as he pointed at the tablet stuck in the ground.

Kiyomi knelt down and looked at the tablet. Kiyomi pulled out a knife and jabbed it into the ground and began trying to dislodge the tablet from the dirt.

"What is it Kiyomi?" Kiyomi's father asked her.

The man helped Kiyomi pick up the tablet as she pried it out of the ground.

"Look at this!" Kiyomi said to her father as she revealed the tablet to him.

"We're even closer than before," Kiyomi's father said as he smirked.

Kiyomi handed the tablet over to the man who then carried the tablet out of the dig site. As Kiyomi took a step, the ground beneath began collapsing.

"Kiyomi!" Kiyomi's father shouted in horror as he watched his daughter fall into a hole that was formed.

Kiyomi landed on a pile of dirt hard causing her to scream in pain. Kiyomi opened her eyes and saw the light shining down on her from above.

"What the heck?" Kiyomi said in confusion as she slowly leaned up holding her back.

Kiyomi pulled out a flashlight and shined it out in front of her and noticed something on a pedestal.

"No way!" Kiyomi said in disbelief as she struggled to her feet.

Kiyomi slowly made her way to the pedestal and saw a black box with inscriptions covering the box. As Kiyomi reached for the box, the box began glowing. The box released an electric jolt as Kiyomi laid her hand on the box shocking her.

"Ow!" Kiyomi said in pain as she quickly pulled her hand away.

"Kiyomi!" Kiyomi's father shouted at her from above. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah!" Kiyomi shouted back to her father. "I think we found it!"

"I'll send someone down to help you get out!" Kiyomi's father shouted to her.

Kiyomi looked at the box again and saw an insignia resembling a lion on it.

"It's definitely it," Kiyomi said as she smiled.


	16. Chapter 15

Chapter 15: Path of the Lion Part 1

*() – Brackets imply that someone is speaking a foreign language. In this case, Japanese.

Out in a forest outside of Dorado Bay, Jirou was standing still with his arms crossed looking up at the treetops. Leaves suddenly began rustling and caught Jirou's attention. Jirou looked up and saw Jun dashing through the trees going from branch to branch.

"I had a feeling Jun would pull ahead," Jirou said as he smirked.

Up in the branches, Mason was slowly moving from branch to branch cautiously.

"This is so stupid!" Mason said as he grabbed onto the trunk of a tree.

"You need to learn to move fast in the trees," Jirou said to Mason.

"This isn't worth breaking my neck over!" Mason shouted as Ben jumped past him.

"It isn't that bad," Ben said to Mason as he continued going across the branches.

"I think Mason is just afraid of heights," Beth said as she giggled while passing Mason.

"I am not!" Mason shouted as his face turned red.

Mason's right foot slipped causing him to fall from the branch. Mason screamed as he fell and quickly shielded his face with his arms.

"Oh no!" Jirou shouted in horror.

Mason suddenly stopped falling and floated in midair. Mason opened his eyes and gasped when he noticed he was floating.

"What the heck?" Mason said in confusion.

"You're lucky I was here!" Logan shouted at Mason from the branch above as his right hand was glowing while it pointed towards Mason.

"Thanks buddy," Mason said in relief as he safely landed on the ground.

"Nice save Logan!" Jirou said to Logan. "Your telekinesis is getting better,"

"Thanks!" Logan said as he continued moving from branch to branch.

Mason walked over towards Jirou grumbling to himself as he dusted dirt off his shirt.

"Are you not going to try again?" Jirou asked Mason.

"No, I'm going to go practice my magic," Mason said as he walked past Jirou.

"Suit yourself," Jirou said as he continued watching the others move through the trees.

Mason came out into an open meadow as he snapped his fingers causing a wand to appear in his hand.

"Let's get to work," Mason said as he began concentrating.

On the Galaxy Warriors ship, Madame Odius walked into the control room where Galvanax was watching a pair of Kudabots work on the computers. Galvanax noticed Madame Odius step into the room and rose to his feet from his throne.

"You better have something important to tell me," Galvanax told Madame Odius.

"I do actually," Madame Odius said as she crossed her arms.

"Then spit it out," Galvanax said as he snickered.

"First off, Cosmo can't find a contestant to send down to Earth to go after the Rangers," Madame Odius informed Galvanax.

"I should just send Cosmo down himself," Galvanax said in disappointment.

"Don't worry, I've been searching around Japan and found something that can help us," Madame Odius said to Galvanax.

Galvanax saw Madame Odius pull a shuriken with a black aura from her sleeve as she snickered.

"Ah, a Seal Star!" Galvanax said in amazement.

"Yes, a star that holds an ancient spirit captured by ninjas centuries ago," Madame Odius said as she nodded.

"Then how are you going to free that spirit?" Galvanax asked Madame Odius.

Madame Odius gazed over and saw a toolbox sitting on the ground next to a Kudabot. Odius threw the Seal Star and struck the toolbox with it causing it to begin glowing. The toolbox floated into the air as the black aura surrounding it formed a body.

"Welcome back," Galvanax said as the monster's body was formed.

The monster came to his senses as his yellow eyes began glowing.

"Where am I?" The monster said in confusion.

The monster gasped in astonishment as he noticed a large drill on his right arm from the elbow down.

"What happened to my body?" The monster asked Madame Odius.

"Sadly your body deteriorated over time since you were sealed in that Seal Star," Madame Odius told the monster. "Basically I inject an object with your spirit and that item replaces your body in a way,"

The monster began snarling as the drill on his right arm started spinning.

"Do you have a name?" Galvanax asked the monster.

"I can't remember," The monster said as he placed his left hand on his forehead.

"I say we call him Drillion!" Cosmo said as he stood at the doorway.

"Drillion?" The monster said in confusion.

"That's fine I suppose," Galvanax said as he sat back down.

"Fine, we'll stick with that," Drillion said as he nodded. "What is it you want me to do?"

"There's an island home to a ninja clan," Galvanax told Drillion. "Those damn ninjas have uncovered the legendary ninja's Lion Fire artifacts,"

"I've heard of the Lion Fire artifacts," Drillion said as he looked down. "I heard they were too powerful for the ninja and took his life along with the demon he battled,"

"Yes, that's them," Madame Odius said as she sat down near a monitor.

"Go to that island and obtain those artifacts before those Ninja Rangers do," Galvanax ordered Drillion as he clenched his fist.

"Yes my lord," Drillion said as he bowed to Galvanax.

Drillion followed Cosmo out of the control room as Galvanax began chuckling.

"Those Rangers are in for a whole lot of trouble," Galvanax said as gripped the arm rests on his throne tightly.

Back down on Earth in the forest, Jirou was still watching the others move through the trees getting better after each attempt. Jun reached the final tree first and dropped down in front of Jirou breathing heavily. Ben then dropped down and fell to his hands and knees gasping for air.

"I think I've had enough for today," Ben said as Logan and Beth dropped down.

"Yeah, my feet are starting to get sore," Logan said as he sat down.

"That's fine," Jirou said as he handed Ben a bottle of water. "We've been out here for a few hours,"

"I wonder if Mason is actually practicing his magic or he went back to the city," Beth said to the others.

"Oh he's out there," Jirou said as he chuckled. "I've heard him bicker out loud a few times,"

Suddenly, a pillar of blue flames shot into the air out in the distance catching everyone by surprise.

"See!" Jirou said to the others as the pillar of flames faded away.

"Well someone go get him and tell him it's time to head back," Jun said to the others.

"I'll go get him," Logan said as he walked past Jun.

Logan walked into the trees and left the others to go find Mason.

"Alright, let's start heading back," Jirou said as he grabbed his bag as his Ninja Comm began going off.

"That's probably dad," Jun said as she sighed.

"It's Jirou, what's going on?" Jirou said as he answered his Ninja Comm.

"Jirou, it's Kiyomi," Kiyomi said through the Ninja Comm. "We've uncovered something on the island and need you and the others to get over here,"

"What did you find?" Jirou asked Kiyomi.

"Something we know Norio will come after," Kiyomi told Jirou.

"What would Galvanax want from Kiyomi's island?" Ben said in confusion.

"I need to go, but use the Astro Zord to get over here quick," Kiyomi said through the Ninja Comm.

"Are we really going?" Beth asked Jirou.

"We don't have a choice," Jirou said as he sighed. "We can't let Galvanax beat us to it,"

Out on her family's island, Kiyomi was waiting on the shore for the other Rangers to arrive in the Astro Zord. Kiyomi looked out in the distance at the waves crashing as she sighed and sat down in the sand.

"I figured they would've been here by now," Kiyomi said to herself.

As Kiyomi grabbed a handful of sand and let it begin pouring back to the ground, she noticed the sun reflecting off something in the distance. Kiyomi rose to her feet and shielded her eyes from the glare.

"It's them!" Kiyomi said as she saw the Astro Zord hovering towards her over the ocean.

Kiyomi began waving both her arms trying to catch the other Rangers' attention.

The Astro Zord slowly lowered down and landed gently in the sand. As Jirou and the others exited the Astro Zord, the Astro Zord flew off into the distance and left the Rangers with Kiyomi.

"Alright, where's this item?" Jirou asked Kiyomi.

"Follow me," Kiyomi said as she began walking away. "The dig site is just up ahead,"

"This better be worth it," Mason said as he rolled his eyes.

"It is, trust me," Kiyomi told Mason as the others followed her through the tree line.

The teens suddenly came up to the dig site and saw Kiyomi's father watching over the workers.

"Father, they're here," Kiyomi said to her father as she approached her father.

"Greetings, welcome to our island," Kiyomi's father said as he turned towards Jirou and the others.

"It's an honor to meet you," Jirou said as he bowed to Kiyomi's father.

"Please, I should be the one bowing to you," Kiyomi's father said as he chuckled.

As Jirou and Kiyomi's father continued talking, Ben noticed the hole in the center of the dig site.

"What's with the hole?" Ben asked Kiyomi as he pointed towards the hole.

"That's where we found the artifact," Kiyomi told Ben.

"Down that hole?" Logan said in confusion.

"Yes, deep down inside it," Kiyomi said as she nodded.

"Let me see it," Jirou said as he walked up beside Kiyomi.

"Of course," Kiyomi said as she led Jirou over to the hole.

"Logan, can you lower us down with your telekinesis?" Jirou asked Logan.

"Certainly," Logan said as he climbed down into the dig site.

Logan aimed his hands towards Jirou and Kiyomi and began concentrating. Jirou and Kiyomi stepped over the hole and began slowly descending down into the dark hole.

"Hopefully it doesn't cave in," Beth said to the others.

Jirou and Kiyomi reached the bottom of the cavern where it was pitch black. Kiyomi pulled out a flashlight and turned it on.

"It's right over here," Kiyomi said as she led Jirou over to the podium.

Jirou noticed the black box as the flashlight shined upon it.

"This is it?" Jirou said in confusion.

"Yeah, look at the writing all over it," Kiyomi said as she handed the flashlight to Jirou.

Jirou walked closer to the box as he shined the flashlight on it.

"This writing is ancient," Jirou told Kiyomi. "I've seen it before on scrolls my grandfather owned,"

"How ancient though?" Kiyomi asked Jirou.

"More than four hundred and forty four years," Jirou said as he chuckled.

"Can you read it?" Kiyomi asked Jirou as she stepped up to the podium.

"None of it," Jirou said as he handed the flashlight back to Kiyomi.

"What're you doing?" Kiyomi asked Jirou as she saw him reach for the box.

"I'm grabbing it to take it up into the sunlight," Jirou said as he placed his hand on the box.

Kiyomi's flashlight suddenly began flickering causing her to gasp.

"Jirou!" Kiyomi said as the flashlight turned off on its own.

The writing on the box began glowing and lit up the cavern leaving Jirou and Kiyomi in awe.

"What did you do?" Kiyomi asked Jirou.

"I just touched it," Jirou said as he shrugged his shoulders.

Jirou picked up the box off the podium causing it to stop glowing.

"Let's get back up to the others before something else crazy happens," Jirou said to Kiyomi as he stepped away from the podium.

"You guys ready to come back up?" Logan shouted to Jirou and Kiyomi as he looked down the hole.

"Yeah, go ahead!" Jirou shouted back to Logan.

Logan aimed his hands down and began concentrating hard as the others stood by and watched. Jirou and Kiyomi rose from the hole and landed safely next to Logan.

"Is that it?" Logan asked Jirou as he noticed the black box.

"Yeah, but we still don't know what it does," Jirou said to Logan.

As Jirou climbed out of the dig site, Jun noticed the writing on the box.

"Man, that's some ancient stuff on that," Jun said in amazement.

"Stuff that I don't even understand," Jirou said as he showed the box to Jun.

"Do you guys have anything that can help with this?" Jun asked Kiyomi's father.

"My father left some books behind," Kiyomi's father told Jun. "Those might work,"

"Ok, I'll try and decipher what this thing says if the books help," Jun said as she took the box from Jirou.

"I'll show you to the study," Kiyomi's father said to Jun as she walked by him.

"Kiyomi, you know what's in that box," Jirou said to Kiyomi.

"Not entirely," Kiyomi told Jirou.

"Stop lying," Jirou said as he turned towards Kiyomi.

Kiyomi sighed in annoyance and stepped away from Jirou.

"It's related to one of your ancestors," Kiyomi told Jirou. "The original Grandmaster of the Takayama Ninja Clan,"

"Masaru Takayama," Jirou said as he looked over at the dig site.

"Was he special or something, aside from being the OG Grandmaster?" Mason asked Jirou.

"Masaru possessed great skills and even forged the shurikens that were used to seal Galvanax and I away," Jirou told Mason.

"Some say he sealed away hundreds if not thousands of Japanese demons that roamed the lands," Kiyomi informed the others.

"How did one guy do all that?" Beth said in confusion.

"He wasn't alone, he had a clan," Jirou told Beth. "He also had access to the legendary Lion Fire armor,"

"What on Earth is that?" Ben asked Jirou.

"Armor that increased Masaru's skills as a ninja," Jirou told Ben.

"It wasn't just armor either," Kiyomi told everyone. "He also had his own Zord,"

"Wait, a Zord?" Logan said in astonishment.

"No one knows what happened to the Lion Fire Zord, but that box might give us a clue," Jirou said to the others.

"I guess the box reacted to you because it sensed that you are part of the Takayama family," Kiyomi told Jirou.

"Yeah, but it didn't react to Jun," Jirou reminded Kiyomi.

"Yes, that was rather odd," Kiyomi said as she nodded.

"Can we go inside and finish talking about this in there?" Mason asked Kiyomi. "I'm getting drenched in sweat standing out here,"

"Of course," Kiyomi said as she began walking away. "My home is this way,"

The others began following Kiyomi away from the dig site and headed off towards her home.

Later that night, Jun was sitting in the study inside of Kiyomi's home reading a book with the black box artifact sitting next to her on a table. As Jun yawned, she turned to the next page. Jun began rubbing her left eye and sat the book on the table.

"From what I've learned, this thing is definitely related to my family," Jun said to herself as she looked over at the black box.

Beth walked into the room and knocked on the wall to catch Jun's attention.

"Oh, hey!" Jun said as Beth walked up beside her.

"How's it going?" Beth asked Jun.

"Good, but slow," Jun told Beth as she picked the book back up.

"Did you at least discover something?" Beth asked Jun.

"I know that it's actually a message from Masaru," Jun informed Beth.

"What kind of message?" Beth questioned Jun as she pulled another chair over.

"I'm not entirely sure," Jun told Beth. "I need to decipher more of it first,"

"Do you mind if I help?" Beth asked Jun.

"No, it's fine," Jun said as she went back to reading. "You can go finish copying down the markings on the box.

"Will do," Beth said as she got up from her seat.

Beth walked over beside the black box and picked up the pencil. Beth placed a sheet of paper on top of the box and began tracing the markings from the box onto the paper.

"I didn't think of that!" Jun said in amazement. "I was literally trying to write them on paper,"

"I bet we'll get this done in no time now," Beth said as she handed Jun the sheet of paper.

"I hope so," Jun said as she took the paper and set it aside.

Down the hall, Jirou was gazing out the window at the moon's reflection in the pond outside of the mansion. Mason began mumbling to himself as he adjusted his pillow in frustration. Jirou turned around and saw Mason lay back down on his pallet on the floor.

"How come Jirou gets to sleep in a bed?" Mason asked Logan and Ben who were lying on pallets of their own.

"I slept on dirt before," Ben told Mason. "Quit bickering and go to sleep,"

"Jirou's not even in bed!" Mason said as he rose up and pointed at Jirou.

"Yeah, why are you still standing over there?" Logan asked Jirou.

"I can't stop thinking of the artifact," Jirou said to Logan.

"Then I'm taking the bed," Mason said as he rose to his feet.

Mason walked over to the bed and quickly got under the cover.

"Just get some shut eye Jirou," Ben told Jirou. "I'm sure Jun will have some news for us in the morning,"

"I guess you're right," Jirou said as he turned away from the window.

Outside, Drillion instantly appeared with his eyes glowing in the darkness. Drillion looked up at the window and saw the lights go off.

"Now to find the artifact for Galvanax," Drillion said as he slowly made his way towards the mansion.

Drillion stepped up to the front door of the mansion and quietly drilled out the lock on the door. Drillion gently opened the front door and snuck inside.

"I can smell the artifact already," Drillion whispered to himself as he began walking up the stairs.

As Drillion made his way to the top of the stairs, Kiyomi turned the corner in the hallway.

"What the?" Kiyomi said in confusion as she noticed Drillion up ahead.

"Hmm?" Drillion said in confusion as he began sniffing.

Drillion turned around and gasped as he noticed Kiyomi down the hall.

"Oh no!" Drillion said in annoyance. "I've been caught!"

"I knew someone would come after the artifact," Kiyomi said as she pulled out her morpher.

"Sorry princess, but I can't let you use that!" Drillion shouted at Kiyomi as he fired a buzzsaw disc from his left hand.

The buzzsaw disc struck Kiyomi's morpher knocking it out of her hand with ease.

"Crap!" Kiyomi said in horror as she went to grab her morpher off the ground.

Drillion quickly ran over to Kiyomi and shoved her into the wall headfirst causing her to go unconscious.

"What's that racket out here?" Ben said in confusion as he and the other guys stepped out of their room.

"Hey, who let the freak in?" Mason asked the others as he saw Drillion standing above Kiyomi.

Drillion picked up Kiyomi and turned towards the boys.

"If you want the princess back, you will bring the artifact to me tomorrow at noon," Drillion told the boys.

"You're not getting away with her," Jirou said as he pulled out his morpher.

"Watch me!" Drillion shouted as he fired a barrage of buzzsaw discs at the Rangers.

The boys ducked to the ground and avoided the buzzsaw discs causing them to hit the wall in the background. Jirou quickly looked back up and saw that Drillion was gone and escaped with Kiyomi.

"He got away!" Logan said as he punched the floor.

Jirou walked across the hall and picked up Kiyomi's morpher off the floor as Kiyomi's father stepped out of his room.

"What is going on out here?" Kiyomi's father asked Jirou.

Kiyomi's father saw Kiyomi's morpher in Jirou's hand.

"I'm sorry grandmaster, we tried to save her," Jirou said as he looked down.

"What happened to her?" Kiyomi's father asked Jirou.

"A monster captured her and wants to trade her for the artifact," Ben said as he walked up.

"That can't happen," Kiyomi's father said as he shook his head.

"We don't need to trade," Jirou said to the others. "We just need what's inside that box,"

"Yeah, we can just trade the box!" Logan said as he realized the plan.

"Then get to finding a way to open the box before it's too late," Kiyomi's father said as he stormed off down the stairs.

"We have until noon tomorrow," Jirou said to the other guys. "Let's get to helping Jun with that box,"

Jirou led the others over to a door and began knocking on the door. The door instantly opened and revealed Beth standing on the other side.

"What was that commotion?" Beth asked Jirou.

"Why didn't you two help?" Mason asked Beth as he leaned in front of Jirou.

"With what?" Beth asked Mason.

"A monster just broke in and kidnapped Kiyomi," Jirou told Beth.

"Oh crap," Beth said in disbelief.

Jirou looked inside of the room and saw Jun wearing headphones while reading a book.

"Well, I can see why Jun didn't hear anything," Jirou said as he sighed and stepped into the room.

The other guys followed Jirou into the room and made themselves at home.

"What's with all these sheets of paper?" Logan asked Beth.

"It's writing off the box from each side," Beth told Logan. "Jun's been deciphering them for a while now,"

"She needs to shake a leg," Ben said as he sat down on a couch.

"Why can't we just go after Kiyomi without Jun?" Beth asked the others.

"Because that monster wants the artifact," Jirou said as he approached Jun.

Jirou grabbed the headphones on Jun's head and pulled them off.

"Hey!" Jun said as she quickly rose to her feet.

"Are you close to opening the thing yet?" Jirou asked Jun.

"Not with you messing with me!" Jun said in frustration as she snatched her headphones back from Jirou.

"Well you need to hurry because we're on a timer now," Mason informed Jun as he sat down with Ben.

"Wait, how so?" Jun said in confusion.

"Kiyomi was kidnapped and the monster responsible wants the artifact," Beth told Jun.

"We plan to trick the monster and only give him the box," Jirou said to Jun as he sat down at the desk beside her.

"Then we better get to work," Jun said as she sighed.

Jirou looked over at the box sitting on a table as Jun continued reading the book in front of her.

"Masaru, give me a sign or something," Jirou said to himself in his head as he stared at the box.

Out in a forest, Kiyomi was tied to a tree with her mouth covered. Drillion walked up next to the fire he made and looked over at Kiyomi who was unconscious. Drillion began snickering as he sat down next to the fire and tossed another piece of wood into the fire.

"In just a few hours, that artifact will belong to Galvanax," Drillion said as he stared at the flames. "With it, he will be unstoppable,"

Kiyomi began mumbling and startled Drillion causing him to jump to his feet.

"So you finally woke up," Drillion said to Kiyomi as he approached her.

Kiyomi began struggling to get her arms free as she groaned in angrily.

"You better hope your friends make the deal," Drillion said as he aimed his drill on his right arm at Kiyomi. "Or else your people won't have an heir to the throne,"

Kiyomi's eyes widened as Drillion's drill began spinning while he laughed evilly.

"Tomorrow begins the extinction of you ninja scum!" Drillion shouted at Kiyomi as he drilled out a hole in the tree right above Kiyomi's head.

The next morning, Jun had her head laid down on the desk asleep. Across the room, Jirou was examining the box while everyone else was sleeping. Jirou suddenly became frustrated and tossed the box back onto the table.

"This is stupid," Jirou said angrily as he stepped away from the table. "We're never going to get the damn thing open in time,"

Jirou picked up the box and stormed out of the room causing Beth to wake up in confusion.

"What was that about?" Beth wondered as she rubbed her left eye.

Beth rose from her seat and walked out of the room to locate Jirou.

"Jirou?" Beth said as she stepped out of the room.

Beth heard a door downstairs close and began heading down the stairs. Beth opened the front door and saw Jirou heading towards the dig site where the box was found.

"What is he up to?" Beth asked herself as she continued following Jirou.

Out at the dig site, Jirou was bickering at the box as Beth quietly walked up.

"For all I know, there's nothing inside this box!" Jirou shouted in frustration.

Jirou picked up the box again and screamed in anger as he prepared to throw it to the ground. Beth quickly grabbed the box from Jirou and hid it behind her back.

"Give it back!" Jirou said to Beth as he reached for the box.

"No, you need to chill out," Beth told Jirou as she stepped back from him.

Beth noticed the bags under Jirou's eyes as she stepped back again.

"Have you slept at all?" Beth asked Jirou.

"I couldn't," Jirou said to Beth. "I wanted to get that box open first,"

"We'll get the box open, don't worry," Beth told Jirou. "Not sleeping has done nothing but made you grumpy,"

"I know," Jirou said as he looked down in disappointment.

Jirou fell to his knees in the dirt and began crying.

"That stupid box has done nothing but cause trouble for us," Jirou said as he punched the ground in rage.

"Yes that's true, but this box will also end up helping us in the end," Beth said as she knelt down beside Jirou.

"It can't help us if we can't open it," Jirou said to Beth.

"Then let's get this thing opened before noon," Beth said as she held her hand out to Jirou.

Jirou looked over at Beth and took her hand. Beth helped Jirou to his feet as their Ninja Comms began going off.

"Hey, where is the box at?" Jun asked Beth and Jirou through the Ninja Comm.

"It's right here with us," Beth told Jun.

"I'm sorry, it's my fault," Jirou said to Jun.

"As long as it's not in that monster's hands it's fine," Jun said to Beth and Jirou. "Just bring it back here so we can continue working on it,"

"Alright, we'll be back there in a flash," Beth said as she and Jirou began heading back to the mansion.

A few hours later, Jun was hurrying through a book as the others stood by watching. Jirou looked over at the box and sighed. Mason pulled out his phone and looked at the time causing him to become nervous.

"It's almost noon," Mason said to the others.

"Shut up!" Jun said in annoyance to Mason as she continued reading.

Jun suddenly went silent and rose to her feet.

"Did you figure it out?" Jirou asked Jun.

"I know what the box says!" Jun said as she turned to the others.

Jun handed the sheet of paper to Jirou after writing down one final thing.

"Inside the box lies the unthinkable," Jirou said as he read the paper. "I, Masaru Takayama, leave this key to anyone capable of breaking this case's seal,"

"Wait, it's just a key?" Logan asked the others.

"This key will unlock the key to the demon's demise," Jirou read out loud as he lowered the sheet of paper.

Mason screamed in anger as he rose to his feet.

"It's just more problems inside!" Mason said in frustration.

"There's one last thing," Jirou said to everyone.

"What's that?" Beth asked Jirou.

"Our hearts forever burn brightly," Jirou said as he handed the paper back to Jun.

"It's our family motto," Jun informed the others.

"That still doesn't solve how to open this thing," Ben said as he picked up the box.

Jirou's eyes suddenly widened in disbelief.

"We're blind!" Jirou said as he took the box from Ben.

"Did you figure it out?" Ben asked Jirou as he watched Jirou set the box on the table.

"The key is the original Ninja Power Star," Jirou said as he pulled out his Red Ninja Power Star.

"But the Ninja Nexus Star was split into our Ninja Power Stars?" Logan said in confusion.

"Then our six Power Stars should do the job just fine," Jun said as she pulled out her Power Star.

Jirou and Ben pulled the table the box was sitting on out into the middle of the room.

"Everyone stand around it and hold your Power Stars out to it like me," Jirou said as he stepped back and aimed his Power Star at the box.

The others followed Jirou's order and aimed their Ninja Power Stars at the box.

"This is stupid," Mason said as he rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, nothing is happening," Jun said as she looked around in confusion.

The box all of a sudden began glowing faintly.

"Hey, something is happening!" Beth said as she gasped.

The box's glow filled the room with a blinding light instantly causing the Rangers to shield their eyes.

"What's going on?" Logan asked the others as the room was still filled with blinding light.

Jirou lost his grip on his Red Ninja Power Star as it was pulled away from him. Jirou peeked over his arm and saw the six glowing Ninja Power Stars lift the box into the air while circling around it.

"This is it!" Jirou said in excitement as he watched each of the Power Stars attach to a side of the box.

As the box crumbled to pieces, the light faded away. Beth opened her eyes and saw Jirou approaching the Ninja Power Stars still circling around something. Jirou reached in between the Ninja Power Stars and grabbed a new Power Star that was inside of the box.

"Guys, it was another Power Star inside," Jirou said as he revealed the Power Star to the others.

"Yeah, but where's the box?" Jun asked Jirou.

"Oh no," Jirou said in horror.

"Oh great, there is no box now," Mason said as he threw his arms up.

"Yeah, it kind of crumbled to pieces," Jirou said as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Then how do we trick the monster now?" Ben asked the others.

"We don't," Jirou said to Ben. "We defeat him,"

"Well we only have a few minutes until noon," Logan told Jirou.

"And we don't even know where to meet them," Jun said as she sighed.

Jirou walked over to the window and noticed a tower of smoke out in the distance.

"Oh yes we do," Jirou said as he smirked.

"Where?" Ben asked Jirou as he watched Jirou exit the room.

"Come on, we need to hurry," Beth said to the others as she left the room.

The others left the room and headed off with Jirou and Beth to find Drillion.

Out on a rocky beach, Drillion was holding Kiyomi with his arm wrapped around her neck waiting for the Rangers to arrive. Drillion snarled in frustration and squeezed tighter around Kiyomi's neck.

"Your friends are late," Drillion said to Kiyomi. "It seems they don't care about you,"

"That's where you're wrong," Jirou said as he walked up along with the others.

"Ah, about time," Drillion said as his drill began spinning. "Where is the artifact?"

"Right here," Jirou said as he held his hand out with a closed fist.

"Wait, you opened it for me?" Drillion said in confusion.

"That's correct," Logan told Drillion as he nodded.

"Then bring it to me," Drillion demanded as he stomped his foot.

"Alright then," Jirou said as he slowly began approaching Drillion.

Jirou walked up to Drillion and held his hand out to Drillion.

"Give it to me!" Drillion shouted as he let go of Kiyomi and went to grab what was in Jirou's hand.

"You heard him Ben," Jirou said as he smirked.

"What?" Drillion said in confusion.

Jirou grabbed Kiyomi and dropped to the ground as Ben fired an energy blast from his hand. The energy blast struck Drillion stunning him for a second as Jirou scurried away with Kiyomi.

"Let's get these off of you," Beth said to Kiyomi as she pulled the cloth away from Kiyomi's mouth.

"What happened to the artifact?" Kiyomi asked Jirou as Beth untied the ropes on Kiyomi's wrists and ankles.

"It's save and not locked inside of the box anymore," Jirou told Kiyomi.

"So you guys actually opened it!" Kiyomi said in amazement.

"You brats have made a big mistake!" Drillion shouted angrily at the Rangers.

"Here, you might need this," Jun said to Kiyomi as she handed her morpher to her.

"Thanks," Kiyomi said as she took her morpher.

"Give me the artifact!" Drillion shouted as a horde of Kudabots and Basher Bots surrounded him.

"He brought out the cavalry!" Mason said to the others as he pulled out his morpher.

"It's time to tame this lion!" Jirou said as he placed his Ninja Power Star on his morpher.

"Ninja Spin!" Each of the Rangers shouted as they activated their morphers and transformed.

The Rangers took off running towards Drillion and his army, but were swallowed in the army of Kudabots and Basher Bots.

"There's too many of them!" Logan shouted as he hit Kudabot after Kudabot. "Two more show up as I take out one!"

"Numbers mean nothing," Kiyomi said to Logan as she kicked a Basher Bot that was approaching Logan. "Teamwork puts the odds in our favor,"

"Everyone surround Kiyomi with your back to her!" Jirou shouted as he backed up towards Kiyomi.

"What're you doing?" Kiyomi asked Jirou as Logan followed Jirou's command.

"Giving us an opening," Jirou said as Mason shoved a Basher Bot away as he ran over.

"This better work," Mason said to Jirou as he stood next to him.

Beth and Jun leapt over a group of the robots and landed next to Jirou and Mason.

"Where's Ben?" Jirou asked the girls as a lightning blast struck a group of the robots.

"Right here partner," Ben said as he walked up with his Rockstorm Guitar in hand.

"Why am I the one being protected?" Kiyomi asked Jirou.

"You'll see," Jirou said as he placed his Ninja Master Mode Star on his sword.

"Oh I see!" Mason said in excitement. "It's time to slice them up!"

The other Rangers placed their Ninja Master Mode Stars on their swords.

"Ninja Master Mode!" The Rangers shouted as they activated the Ninja Power Stars.

The Rangers instantly transformed into Ninja Master Mode and quickly began hacking away at the Kudabots and Basher Bots with their Ninja Master Blades.

"Now's your chance Kiyomi!" Jirou shouted as he sliced through another Basher Bot with his sword.

"Right!" Kiyomi said as she ran past Jirou and took off towards Drillion.

Kiyomi placed her Ninja Element Star on her Ninja Star Blade as she leapt into the air.

"Ninja Water Attack!" Kiyomi shouted as her body was engulfed in water while continuously flipping in the air.

Kiyomi crashed into Drillion as Drillion stood his ground by blocking Kiyomi with his drill.

"I'm not going down that easily!" Drillion shouted as he shoved Kiyomi away.

Kiyomi landed back on the ground and groaned in frustration.

"It didn't work!" Kiyomi said as she clenched her fist.

"What the heck?" Drillion said in confusion as he noticed the other Rangers mowing down the robots with ease.

"Finish them off!" Jirou shouted as his and the other Ranger's swords began glowing.

Each of the six Rangers swung their Ninja Master Blades and blew the Kudabots and Basher Bots into pieces.

"I might be in trouble now," Drillion said as he began stepping back.

"Oh, don't start acting like a scared pussy cat now," Kiyomi said as the others ran up beside her.

As the Rangers prepared to attack Drillion, the area suddenly darkened.

"What's going on?" Jun said in confusion.

"Holy moly!" Ben said as he noticed the Galaxy Warriors Ship flying above them.

"Yes!" Drillion shouted as he raised his arms into the air. "My help has arrived!"

The bottom of the ship began glowing and released a powerful blast that struck Drillion and knocked the Rangers away with ease.

"Wait, I didn't want to grow yet!" Drillion shouted as he began growing.

"This is just making things easier," Mason said as he cracked his knuckles.

"Kiyomi, hold onto this for us," Jirou said as he handed Kiyomi the ancient Power Star.

"Is this the artifact?" Kiyomi asked Jirou.

"Yes, but you need to get it away from here before Galvanax sends someone after it," Jirou told Kiyomi as he placed his Zord Star on his sword.

"Will do," Kiyomi said as she began running away.

"Alright guys, let's send this cat packing with the Ninja Fusion Zord!" Jirou shouted as he activated his Zord Star.

As the other Rangers activated their Zord Stars, each of the Rangers Zords appeared and quickly combined together forming the Ninja Fusion Zord.

"I'm going to enjoy tearing you apart," Drillion said as he approached the Ninja Fusion Zord.

Drillion struck the Ninja Fusion Zord causing it to stumble backwards.

"This guy packs a punch," Jirou said as the Rangers regained control.

"Let's even up the odds!" Drillion shouted as he laughed evilly when two Skullgators dropped down from the ship above.

"That's not good," Ben said as he looked over at Jirou next to him.

"We'll finish them off first," Jirou said as the Ninja Fusion Zord's sword began glowing.

A Skullgator suddenly grabbed onto the Megazord's arm from behind preventing it from attacking.

"Uh oh!" Beth said in astonishment.

"Here they come!" Logan shouted as the other two Skullgators made their way towards the Megazord.

The Skullgators began striking the Megazord repeatedly with their weapons as Drillion watched in joy.

"That's right!" Drillion shouted to the Skullgators. "Destroy them!"

"What do we do?" Jun asked the others as sparks shot out of her console in front of her.

"Hang in there!" Jirou shouted as sparks continued shooting out of each Ranger's console.

"We don't have time for that!" Mason shouted at Jirou.

"This will all be over soon," Drillion said as he launched a pair of buzzsaw discs at the Megazord and struck it in the chest.

Near the battlefield, Kiyomi was climbing up a cliff with the ancient Power Star in her hand. A loud explosion went off startling Kiyomi as she reached the top of the cliff. Kiyomi turned back towards the battle and saw the others being teamed up on by the Skullgators.

"This isn't good," Kiyomi said in concern as she grasped the Power Star in her hand.

In the distance Drillion struck the Ninja Fusion Zord with his drill creating a hole in the Megazord's chest.

"They need my help!" Kiyomi said as she went to jump off the cliff.

Kiyomi hesitated and froze in place.

"I don't have a Megazord though," Kiyomi said to herself. "How do I help them?"

Kiyomi looked down at the ancient Power Star as the fight continued out in the distance.

"Wait, this Power Star might be our saving grace," Kiyomi said as her Ninja Star Blade appeared in her other hand.

Kiyomi placed the Power Star on her sword and took a deep breath before spinning the Power Star. As Kiyomi activated the Power Star the ground beneath her began rumbling viciously.

"What's going on?" Kiyomi said in confusion as the Power Star detached from her sword and flew off back towards her home.

Kiyomi turned back towards her home in astonishment.

"Where did it go?" Kiyomi wondered.

Back at the dig site, the ancient Power Star returned to the cavern. The Power Star phased through the rocky wall causing the cavern to begin shaking. At the mansion, Kiyomi's father ran outside as a tremor occurred with two of his men beside him.

"What's causing this?" Kiyomi's father asked the men.

"It's not the Rangers that's for sure!" One of the men said in horror as the ground began splitting.

A loud roar was then heard coming from the dig site causing Kiyomi's father to cover his ears.

"What on Earth?" Kiyomi's father said in confusion as he saw a large red object rise out of the ground.

"Impossible!" One of his men said in disbelief.

"It's the ancient fortress the legends spoke of!" Kiyomi's father said as the large red fortress resembling a lion began floating into the air.

The lion fortress let out another loud roar and blasted off towards the beach.

"They actually did it!" Kiyomi's father said in amazement.

Back on the beach, the Skullgators were striking the weak spot on the Megazord's chest. Drillion stepped forward and prepared to drill through the Megazord's head with his drill while two of the Skullgators held the Megazord back.

"This is the end of you Rangers!" Drillion said as he laughed evilly.

Blasts began hitting Drillion and the Skullgators knocking them away from the Megazord with ease.

"What was that?" Jirou said in confusion.

The Megazord looked up into the sky and saw the red lion fortress slowly descending to the ground.

"Is that a new Zord?" Logan asked the others.

"No way!" Jun said in amazement. "The ancient Power Star was a Zord Star!"

"Hell yeah!" Mason said as the large Zord landed next to the Megazord.

"No, it can't be!" Drillion said in horror. "It's the Lion Fire Zord!"

"Even this guy knows he's done for," Ben said to the others.

"Lion Fire Zord huh?" Jirou said as he pulled his sword from his console. "I like it,"

Jirou teleported out of the cockpit and instantly appeared inside of the Lion Fire Zord's cockpit. Jirou inserted his sword into the Lion Fire Zord's console and gained control of the Zord.

"Let's see what this beast can do!" Jirou said as the Lion Fire Zord began moving towards Drillion and the Skullgators.

As the Lion Fire Zord approached the enemies, two laser blasts fired from the Zord and destroyed two of the Skullgators with ease.

"Now that's firepower!" Jirou said in amazement as the Zord fired once more and destroyed the last Skullgator.

The Lion Fire Zord fired at Drillion and struck him with a laser blast causing him to fall back into the water.

"It's time for this chapter to come to a close!" Jirou said as the Lion Fire Zord began charging its cannons.

A blast suddenly shot down from the Galaxy Warriors Ship hitting Drillion in the water causing him to shrink back down to normal.

"Hold on a second!" Jirou said in disbelief.

Drillion teleported away as the Galaxy Warriors Ship took off back into space leaving the two large Zords on the beach. As Jirou and the others exited the Zords, Kiyomi came running up staring at the Lion Fire Zord in awe.

"So the ancient Power Star summoned that?" Kiyomi said as she continued looking up at the new Zord.

"Even Galvanax knows the Lion Fire Zord is powerful apparently," Jun said to the others.

"Yeah, but why would they save that monster?" Logan wondered.

"I'm not sure," Beth said as she shrugged her shoulders.

"They should know that freak doesn't stand a chance against us now," Mason said as he crossed his arms.

Jirou looked back at the Lion Fire Zord and noticed something exiting the Zord.

"What is that?" Jirou said in confusion.

A glowing gold orb flew up in front of Jirou's face and continued hovering in front of him.

"(Who woke me up from my slumber?)" The orb shouted in Jirou's face startling Jirou.

Jirou and the others screamed in horror as they took off running away from the orb of light.

"(Hey, I'm not done talking to you!)" The orb shouted as it flew off after the Rangers.

"Stay away from us you ghost!" Ben shouted in the distance as the Rangers continued running back towards the village.


	17. Chapter 16

Chapter 16: Path of the Lion Part 2

*() – Brackets indicate that a character speaks a foreign language. In this case, Japanese.*

Inside of the control room on the Galaxy Warriors ship, Drillion stormed into the room and shoved Madame Odius against the wall threatening her with the large drill on his hand. Galvanax rose to his feet and began making his way across the room to the two bickering.

"I don't know what your problem is!" Madame Odius said as she swatted Drillion's hand away from her. "It's not my fault the Rangers awoke the Lion Fire Zord,"

"Then make me stronger so I can destroy that ancient rust bucket!" Drillion shouted at Madame Odius.

Galvanax grabbed Drillion and hurled him across the control room making him slam into the wall. Drillion fell to the ground in pain and struggled to get up.

"You'll never become stronger with how you act," Galvanax told Drillion as he sat back down.

"Oh, I'll prove you wrong," Drillion said as he made it back to his feet.

"There is something I can do, but it's risky," Madame Odius said as she dusted herself off.

"Then let's do it!" Drillion said as he turned towards Madame Odius. "I can take the risk,"

"If it fails you won't be you anymore," Madame Odius warned Drillion.

"I haven't been myself ever since you put me in this wretched body," Drillion told Madame Odius.

"Fine, follow me to my lab," Madame Odius said as she walked out the door.

Drillion followed Madame Odius out of the control room leaving Galvanax by himself.

"That worthless fool better step up his game," Galvanax said to himself as he crossed his arms.

Back on Earth on Ishihara Island, the Rangers returned to Kiyomi's home and saw the damage caused by the Lion Fire Zord's awakening. Kiyomi looked out into the distance in horror as her father approached her from behind and placed his hand on her shoulder.

"We will fix the damage, but it will take time," Kiyomi's father told her.

"At least you're safe now," Jirou said to Kiyomi.

"Hey, where did that ball of light go?" Ben asked the others as he looked back in confusion.

"Yeah, it was still following us last I checked," Jun said to the others.

"(There you are!)" Someone shouted from the tree line.

The glowing ball of light shot out from the trees startling everyone as it came to a halt.

"What is this thing?" Kiyomi's father asked his daughter.

"We're not sure, but it appears to only speak Japanese," Kiyomi told her father.

"(Who are you?)" Jirou asked the ball of light.

"(I am Masaru Takayama, grandmaster of the Takayama Ninja Clan,)" The ball of light informed Jirou.

"You've got to be kidding me," Jun said as she facepalmed.

"(What is this place?)" Masaru asked as he flew around everyone.

"(This is where you hid the Lion Fire Zord,)" Jirou told Masaru.

"(Ishihara Island,)" Kiyomi's father said to Masaru.

"(I have never heard this place called that before,)" Masaru said as he flew up in front of Kiyomi's father's face.

"(That's because you've been dead for centuries,)" Kiyomi informed Masaru.

"(Impossible!)" Masaru said as he flew over towards Kiyomi. "(If I was dead I wouldn't be here right now,)"

"(You're a floating ball of light,)" Kiyomi said as she became annoyed.

Masaru flew over towards a pond and looked at his reflection in the water.

"(It cannot be!)" Masaru shouted in horror.

"Am I the only one wondering what he's saying?" Mason asked the others.

"I could care less," Logan said as he sighed.

"(What happened to me?)" Masaru asked Kiyomi.

"(I'm not sure, but there was a legend that said your life ended due to the power you possessed,)" Kiyomi told Masaru.

"(The Lion Fire Armor,)" Masaru said as he slowly floated away from Kiyomi. "(It really did end my life,)"

The light around Masaru began to fade.

"He's a Ninja Power Star!" Ben said in astonishment.

"Yeah, an odd looking one though," Jun said as Jirou walked up to Masaru.

Jirou grabbed Masaru and startled him.

"(It seems your soul was sealed within this Ninja Power Star,)" Jirou told Masaru.

"(Keep your dirty hands off of me!)" Masaru shouted as the Ninja Power Star began spinning and emitting flames.

Jirou let go of Masaru as the flames grew stronger.

"(Settle down!)" Jirou shouted at Masaru. "(We're on the same side!)"

"(And how do I know you're not lying?)" Masaru asked Jirou.

"(Because I know how you feel right now,)" Jirou told Masaru. "(I too was sealed away for hundreds of years,)"

"(I wasn't sealed away!)" Masaru shouted at Jirou. "(I hid the Lion Fire Zord and this Ninja Power Star I now am from the demons waiting for the next generation of ninja,)"

"(We are ninja!)" Jirou said as he grabbed Masaru once again.

"(You're a pathetic bunch of brats is more like it!" Masaru shouted at Jirou as he began emitting flames again.

"(I fought the Demon King myself!)" Jirou told Masaru as he fought the heat from the flames. "(I sacrificed memories I could've had with my family to stop him!)"

Masaru suddenly stopped emitting flames as he became astonished.

"(I was sealed away for over four hundred years with him,)" Jirou said as he let go of Masaru. "(Go ahead and say I'm not a ninja again,)"

"(Jirou is also a descendant of yours,)" Kiyomi informed Masaru.

"(He is a Takayama?)" Masaru said in confusion.

"(That's right,)" Jun said as she stepped forward. "(I am as well,)"

"(We've been battling Galvanax for months now,)" Jirou told Masaru. "(It's because of us that everyone is still living their lives to this day,)"

Jirou reached into his pocket and revealed the Red Ninja Power Star to Masaru.

"(Besides, we were chosen to stop him,)" Jirou said to Masaru.

Masaru turned away from Jirou as he groaned.

"(Please help us stop Galvanax,)" Jirou pleaded to Masaru. "(We can't do it without the power you once possessed,)"

"(Boy, this power is too great for any of you,)" Masaru told Jirou. "(Not even I could handle it,)"

"(I don't care if I die as long as Galvanax dies with me,)" Jirou said as he clenched his fist.

Masaru sighed and turned back towards Jirou.

"(What makes you want to stop this Galvanax so badly?)" Masaru asked Jirou.

"(He betrayed our family name and became the Demon King himself,)" Jirou told Masaru. "(I watched him kill many of our people, including my grandfather,)"

"(I cannot assure you these powers,)" Masaru said to Jirou. "(Only you can,)"

"(How does that work?)" Jirou asked Masaru.

"(Only you can find that answer,)" Masaru told Jirou.

"(Then I'll show you I'm worthy,)" Jirou said as he turned away from Masaru.

"What's going on?" Beth asked Jirou as Jirou walked past her.

"Don't worry about it," Jirou said to Beth as he continued walking.

"(That boy really is a Takayama,)" Masaru said quietly to himself as he watched Jirou walk inside.

Later that night, Jirou was training with the other guys as Masaru spied on them. Masaru watched as Jirou continued fighting off the others as they came at him. Jirou quickly swept Ben off his feet and took Ben's wooden sword from him. Jirou blocked both Mason and Logan's swords and shoved them away.

"Come on, you don't need to be a try hard right now!" Mason said in frustration.

"I'm just ticked off!" Jirou said as he blocked Logan's attack with his sword. "If anyone deserves to use those powers, it's me!"

Jirou pulled Logan in front of him causing Mason to hit Logan with his wooden sword.

"Logan!" Mason shouted in concern as Logan fell to the ground holding his nose in pain.

"What was that about?" Ben asked Jirou.

Jirou dropped the two swords as he looked down in horror at Logan in pain.

"I'm sorry," Jirou said as he approached Logan.

"How about you go somewhere else!" Mason shouted as he shoved Jirou away.

"It's fine," Logan said as he held his nose.

"You really need to understand that this isn't just about you," Mason said to Jirou.

Jirou stormed out of the room and left Mason and Ben taking care of Logan. Masaru saw Jirou walk by him mumbling to himself.

"(The boy still has things he needs to learn,)" Masaru said to himself as he watched Jirou turn the corner.

Outside on a cliff on the beach, Kiyomi was by herself playing a flute in the night. Kiyomi continued playing as a gentle breeze blew causing her to slowly open her eyes. Kiyomi suddenly heard someone walking up behind her and stopped playing.

"Oh, I didn't mean to interrupt you," Beth said to Kiyomi as she saw Kiyomi turn towards her.

"It's fine," Kiyomi said to Beth. "I'm still a little jumpy after what happened last night,"

"Trust me, I know how it feels," Beth said as she sat down beside Kiyomi.

Kiyomi and Beth began laughing together as they looked out at the moon shining down on the ocean.

"Today was weird," Kiyomi told Beth.

"Yeah, it really was," Beth said as she giggled.

"A talking Ninja Power Star," Kiyomi said as she chuckled.

"One some of us can't even understand," Beth said as she laid back and looked up at the stars.

Kiyomi quietly laid back and looked up at the stars beside Beth.

"How did you feel when you found him?" Kiyomi asked Beth.

"What?" Beth said in confusion. "Are you talking about Jirou?"

"Yeah, who else?" Kiyomi asked Beth.

"I was worried when I saw him lying there," Beth told Kiyomi. "I thought he was already dead, especially when I noticed the wound on him,"

"So, his wounds were still fresh even though he was sealed away for hundreds of years," Kiyomi said as she stared at the stars.

"Once he woke up, I could tell he was scared," Beth said as she leaned back up.

"How so?" Kiyomi asked Beth.

"He realized something was different," Beth told Kiyomi. "He lost his family and friends,"

"And he ended up with new family and friends," Kiyomi said as she smiled.

"That's right," Beth said as she nodded.

Kiyomi slowly raised the flute back up to her mouth and began playing again as the wind gently blew.

"Jirou still believes there's a way for him to return to his family," Beth said as Kiyomi continued playing.

Beth laid back down and stared back up at the night sky.

"But if he did go back, he'd lose family and friends again," Beth said as her eyes began watering.

Beth slowly closed her eyes as Kiyomi continued playing her flute. Kiyomi noticed something down on the beach causing her to stop playing. Beth opened her eyes and saw Kiyomi looking down at the beach.

"What is it?" Beth asked Kiyomi.

"It's Jirou," Kiyomi told Beth as she pointed down below.

Beth rose back up and looked down off the cliff and saw Jirou training by himself.

"I thought he was with the other guys training inside?" Beth asked Kiyomi.

"He was," Kiyomi said as she rose to her feet.

Down below Jirou punched a rock with a flaming fist as he screamed in anger causing the rock to shatter to pieces.

"What is wrong with me?" Jirou asked himself as he sat down in the sand. "Why did I do that inside?"

Kiyomi and Beth quietly walked up as Jirou continued talking to himself.

"Are you okay?" Kiyomi asked Jirou.

Jirou looked over his shoulder and saw Beth and Kiyomi walk up behind him.

"Why aren't you inside with the others?" Beth asked Jirou.

"Because I'm a reckless moron," Jirou said as he looked away.

"What happened?" Beth asked Jirou as she sat down beside him.

"I took things too far and ended up hurting Logan," Jirou told Beth.

"Accidents happen," Kiyomi said as she sat on a rock.

"I'm sure Logan will be fine," Beth told Jirou.

"Even if he is, Mason won't get over it," Jirou said to Beth.

"Well that's just how Mason is," Beth said as she chuckled. "He always blows things out of proportions,"

"I have feeling you were trying a little too hard so you could prove that you're worthy of the Lion Fire Armor," Kiyomi said as she crossed her legs.

"Yep, that's right," Jirou said as he sighed.

"You don't need to prove anything," Beth said to Jirou. "If anyone deserves that power, it's you,"

"Beth's right," Kiyomi said as she nodded. "The amount of people you've saved is enough proof to me,"

"Now are you going to keep sitting out here or are you going to go to bed inside?" Beth asked Jirou.

"Alright then," Jirou said as he rose to his feet.

"Just ignore Mason's bickering," Beth said as she rose to her feet.

"How can you?" Jirou asked Beth as he and the girls headed back to the house laughing.

Back at the mansion, Kiyomi led Jirou and Beth inside and saw Jun sitting by herself in boredom. Jun looked over at the others as she rose to her feet. Bickering was then heard coming from upstairs as Jun walked over to the others.

"Mason has been complaining nonstop," Jun said in annoyance.

"We're about to fix that," Beth said to Jun as she patted on her shoulder while walking past her.

"Where have you guys been anyway?" Jun asked them as she followed the others up the stairs.

"We were just out enjoying the weather," Kiyomi told Jun as she smiled.

"Yeah, it really does help get your mind off things," Jirou said as the group came up to the top of the stairs.

As Jirou and the others approached a door down the hall, the bickering became louder.

"Let me go in first," Beth said to Jirou as she stepped in between Jirou and the door.

"Go ahead," Jirou said as he stepped back.

Beth took in a deep breath and opened the door. Ben looked over at the door as Mason continued yelling and saw Beth step into the room.

"Ok, that's enough screaming like a child," Beth said to Mason as she walked up to him.

"He's the only one that won't get over what happened to Logan," Ben told Beth. "Even Logan knows it was an accident,"

"My nose isn't even broken, just bruised," Logan said with a nasally voice.

"Accident or not, Jirou needs to learn to control himself," Mason said as he crossed his arms.

"I can say the same to you," Jirou said as he stepped into the room.

"I'm not the one injuring my friends while training!" Mason shouted at Jirou.

"Accidents happen Mason," Jun said as she stood at the doorway. "Let it go!"

"Accident or not, Jirou needs to think about our safety more than an old Power Star," Mason said to the others.

Kiyomi quietly stepped into the room and made her way to the other side of the room.

"That Power Star is too important to ignore," Jirou told Mason as Kiyomi snuck up behind Mason.

"We don't need some ancient Power Star to beat the bad guys!" Mason shouted at Jirou.

"You saw what that monster did to us yesterday," Jirou said to Mason. "If it wasn't for the Lion Fire Zord we'd all be dead,"

"Okay, that's enough complaining!" Kiyomi said as she jabbed two fingers into Mason's shoulder.

Mason instantly fell to the ground unconscious surprising the others.

"Was that necessary?" Beth asked Kiyomi.

"He'll be fine," Kiyomi said as she sighed. "He'll just be a little lightheaded when he gets up in the morning,"

"And with that, it's time for bed," Jun said as Beth and Kiyomi stepped out of the room.

"See you guys in the morning," Kiyomi said as she closed the door behind her.

Ben looked down at Mason lying on the floor and tapped him with his foot.

"I think we just witnessed a murder," Ben said in horror.

"She only knocked him out by hitting one of his pressure points," Jirou said as he sat down on his bed.

Jirou looked over at Logan and saw the bruised area around his nose.

"I'm sorry about earlier," Jirou said to Logan.

"Don't worry about it," Logan said as he covered up in bed. "We all make mistakes,"

"I just hope Mason doesn't wake up in a hissy fit again," Ben said as he lied down.

"I'm sure things will be back to normal tomorrow," Jirou said as he turned off the lamp on the table next to him.

"I hope so," Logan said as he rolled over in bed.

The next morning, Mason came to his senses and woke up in the floor. Mason looked over at Jirou's bed and saw that Jirou was missing. Mason rose to his feet and began to stumble as he grasped his head in pain.

"What the heck happened to me?" Mason said in confusion.

Mason shook the pain away and exited the room leaving Ben and Logan by themselves sleeping. Mason stepped outside and saw the sun rising over the horizon in the distance.

"Where could Jirou be?" Mason wondered as he walked over towards a pond in the front yard.

"I wouldn't bother him," Kiyomi said to Mason as she was sitting under a tree with her flute in hand.

"I didn't notice you over there," Mason said to Kiyomi.

"Just the side effects of me making you faint," Kiyomi said as she chuckled.

"Whatever," Mason said as he rolled his eyes. "Seriously, where did Jirou run off to?"

"I saw him and Masaru head towards the beach a few minutes ago," Kiyomi told Mason. "Jirou was meditating last I checked,"

"What a joke," Mason said as he chuckled.

"You should try meditating sometime," Kiyomi advised Mason. "It'll help with your anger problem,"

"I don't have an anger problem," Mason said in annoyance as he began heading towards the beach.

"There it is," Kiyomi said as she sighed and rose to her feet.

Kiyomi followed Mason down to the beach where they saw Jirou sitting by himself at the bottom of the cliff meditating with Masaru floating near him.

"Alright, it's time to wake up," Mason said as he began approaching Jirou.

Kiyomi grabbed Mason by the arm and pulled him away from Jirou.

"I wouldn't do that," Kiyomi told Mason.

"Why not?" Mason asked Kiyomi.

"Just leave him be for now," Kiyomi said to Mason as she let go of him.

"I'm not going to wait on him to wake up," Mason said to Kiyomi. "We still need to finish our discussion,"

"You really want me to force you asleep again don't you?" Kiyomi asked Mason.

Kiyomi walked up behind Mason and grabbed him again.

"How about you try meditating too?" Kiyomi asked Mason.

"Not a chance," Mason said as he pulled his arm away from her.

"I can tell that something is troubling you, and it's not about the accident from yesterday," Kiyomi said to Mason. "That would explain your outbursts,"

"Fine, only if it makes you shut up about it," Mason said in annoyance as he sat down in the sand and crossed his legs.

Kiyomi sat down beside Mason and crossed her legs.

"Close your eyes and breathe gently," Kiyomi told Mason as she closed her eyes.

Mason closed his eyes and began gently breathing.

"Clear your mind," Kiyomi said to Mason. "Don't let anything distract you,"

"This isn't going to work," Mason said as he snickered.

"It won't if you don't keep quiet," Kiyomi said as she slapped Mason on the back of the head.

Mason began gently breathing again as the ocean breeze blew by. Mason opened his eyes and noticed that the area had become foggy. Mason rose to his feet and noticed that Kiyomi and Jirou were gone.

"Guys?" Mason said as he backed up cautiously.

"It's because of you that mom is gone!" Someone shouted out loud startling Mason.

Mason quickly turned around and saw another Mason yelling at nothing.

"Ok, this just got a little creepy," Mason said as he approached the other Mason.

Mason went to grab the other Mason by the shoulder, but the other Mason suddenly disappeared before him.

"You only care about your stupid magic shows!" Another Mason shouted in the distance.

"It's me yelling at my dad," Mason said as he watched the other Mason continue yelling.

"How about you do something else with your life besides pulling a rabbit out of your hat?" The other Mason said as he walked into the fog and vanished.

"I'm not following orders from you," Another Mason said as he walked past Mason.

"Why am I seeing this?" Mason said in confusion.

"What does she see in him?" Another Mason asked himself as Mason turned around. "It doesn't make any sense,"

Mason backed away from the other Mason's causing them to disappear into the fog. Someone was then heard crying. Mason turned around and saw another version of him sitting on the ground crying.

"Come on, just get it over with," The crying Mason said as he held a knife to his wrist.

The Mason screamed in frustration and threw the knife into the fog.

"This is all your fault," The Mason said as he rose to his feet.

The Mason turned towards Mason and glared at him.

"Wait, you can see me?" Mason asked the other Mason.

"We all can," Another Mason said as he walked out of the fog.

"And now we're going to make you suffer like the rest of us," Another Mason said as he grabbed Mason from behind.

"Get off of me!" Mason shouted as he slung the other Mason off of him.

"You'll never change your ways Mason," One of the Masons said to him. "We won't let you,"

"Shut up!" Mason shouted as the other Masons approached him.

"Let's all stay here and suffer together!" A Mason said to Mason as he laughed evilly.

"How do I get out of this place?" Mason asked himself.

"You don't," Another Mason answered him.

"Stay out of my head!" Mason shouted at the Mason who was approaching him.

"Be with us," All the other Masons said at once.

"No chance in hell!" Mason shouted as he placed his hand on the ground causing pillars of water to shoot out of the ground and wipe out the other Masons around him.

"You can't stop us," Another group of Masons said together as they walked out of the fog.

"We'll see about that," Mason said as he pulled out his wand and fired a stream of blue flames at the other Masons.

The flames took out the other Masons with ease, but only caused more to appear.

"Come on, there has to be a way to stop them!" Mason said in frustration.

Mason then realized something and lowered his arms.

"That's right, give up," The other Masons said as they went to grab Mason.

"I'm sorry," Mason said as he looked down in sorrow.

The other Masons froze in place as tears began running down Mason's face.

"No more," Mason said as he wiped the tears from his face. "I won't act like a jerk anymore,"

The other Masons began fading away along with fog as Mason sniffled. Mason looked up and saw that he was now alone.

"It actually worked," Mason said to himself. "But why am I still here?"

A blinding light then filled the area forcing Mason to cover his eyes. Mason opened his eyes and heard the wave's splash in front of him.

"Do you feel any better now?" Kiyomi asked Mason as she walked up next to him.

"I don't know," Mason said as Kiyomi helped him to his feet.

Mason turned around and saw that Jirou was still meditating.

"I just hope what happened to me isn't happening to him," Mason said as he wiped the sweat from his head.

Out in a forest, Jirou slowly opened his eyes and realized he wasn't on the beach anymore. Jirou rose to his feet in confusion and saw that he was by himself. Jirou looked down at his wrist and saw that his Ninja Comm was gone.

"Wait, this is in my mind," Jirou said to himself.

The wind began blowing gently as Jirou closed his eyes calmly. Masaru peeked out from behind a tree and saw Jirou standing still.

"(What is the boy up to?)" Masaru asked himself.

"(I know you're there ancestor,)" Jirou said to Masaru.

Masaru flew over towards Jirou and was quickly grabbed by him.

"(How are you in here with me?)" Jirou asked Masaru.

"(I'm a spirit,)" Masaru told Jirou as he began spinning viciously. "(It's just a thing spirits can do,)"

Jirou released Masaru from his grip and sighed.

"(I didn't come here to talk to you,)" Jirou said to Masaru as he turned away.

"(Neither did I,)" Masaru told Jirou.

The wind gently began blowing once again causing chills to run down Jirou's neck. Jirou quickly turned around in astonishment and saw his grandfather, Yuudai, standing across from him.

"(Grandfather!)" Jirou said in disbelief.

"(Masaru is here for the same reason I am,)" Yuudai told Jirou.

"(And why's that?)" Jirou asked his grandfather.

"(We are going to train you,)" Masaru said to Jirou as he floated by Jirou's head.

"(Masaru himself could barely handle the Lion Fire Armor and it cost him his life,)" Yuudai explained to Jirou. "(But we believe you can unlock the armor's full potential,)"

"(How is training in my head going to help?)" Jirou asked Yuudai.

"(If all things go well, you'll notice,)" Yuudai said as he chuckled.

"(Shall we begin?)" Masaru asked Jirou.

"(One more thing, you won't be able to use your powers,)" Yuudai informed Jirou. "(Only what you've learned,)"

"(Let's get started then,)" Jirou said as he prepared himself.

As Yuudai stepped back, a group of ninjas crept up on Jirou surrounding him. Jirou looked up in the trees above him and saw more ninjas waiting to attack from above.

"(Starting off easy I see,)" Jirou said as he chuckled.

As a ninja in the tree above Jirou dropped down, a cloud of smoke appeared in Jirou's place. Jirou swiftly struck the ninja on the back of the head knocking him out with ease.

"Now to get away before the others catch me," Jirou said quietly to himself as he grabbed the ninja's sword off the ground.

The smoke cleared and revealed an unconscious ninja lying on the ground and no sign of Jirou.

"(He's already on the move,)" Yuudai said to Masaru as he watched from afar.

Jirou dropped down from a tree and landed on top of another ninja. The other ninjas spotted Jirou and began dashing towards him in an instant. As Jirou leapt back, Jirou hurled multiple shurikens at the ninjas striking each of them. Jirou landed safely on his feet and watched as each of the ninjas collapsed to the ground.

"(Come on grandfather, this is too easy,)" Jirou said to his grandfather as he began growing impatient.

Jirou gasped as he quickly rolled away barely avoiding shurikens that were hurled towards him. Jirou turned away from the tree and caught a small dart with two fingers. A ninja suddenly leapt out of a bush and went to strike Jirou with his sword. As the ninja hit Jirou, Jirou's clothes dropped to the ground in front of the ninja.

"(Ah, a classic move,)" Yuudai said as he continued watching.

Three more ninja slowly approached the other ninja as he checked Jirou's clothes. Leaves were heard rustling catching the ninjas' attention. Jirou jumped out from behind a tree and ran towards the ninjas. Jirou jumped over three of the ninjas and kicked the furthest ninja in the back while throwing smoke bombs towards the other three. The smoke bombs exploded in the ninjas faces startling them.

"(I've seen enough,") Masaru said as he began floating towards the smoke cloud.

The smoke cleared and revealed Jirou standing above the ninjas who were all unconscious on the ground.

"(Anyone else?)" Jirou asked his grandfather.

"(No, I think we've seen enough,)" Yuudai said to Jirou as he approached him.

"(Then what now?)" Jirou asked his grandfather.

"(You're finished here,)" Yuudai informed Jirou. "(It is time for you and Masaru to return to the living world,)"

"(Well, it was good seeing you again grandfather,)" Jirou said to Yuudai as he smiled.

"(I will always be here,)" Yuudai said to Jirou as a blinding light filled the area.

Back on the beach, Jirou slowly opened his eyes as he heard the ocean waves. Jirou looked around and saw that no one was around him. Masaru flew out from behind Jirou as Jirou rose to his feet and attached to Jirou's left wrist.

"(What're you doing?)" Jirou asked Masaru.

"(It is now time to see if you're capable of using the Lion Fire Armor,)" Masaru told Jirou.

"(Are you serious?)" Jirou said as he raised his left arm up to his face.

"(Stop asking questions and try to activate the Ninja Power Star!)" Masaru shouted at Jirou.

"(Fine, just settle down,)" Jirou said to Masaru.

Jirou took a stance and calmly breathed in.

"(Concentration is one step you'll need in order to access the full potential of my powers,)" Masaru told Jirou.

"(Let's do this,)" Jirou said as he clenched his left fist.

Jirou spun the Ninja Power Star with his right hand causing flames to surround Masaru on his left wrist.

"(The heat is already too much!)" Jirou shouted as he struggled to fight the flames.

"(Do not give in!)" Masaru shouted as the flames began growing stronger around him.

"(I can't take it!)" Jirou shouted as the flames continued growing stronger.

A shockwave was released from Masaru causing Jirou to fall to the ground.

"(You can't give up so soon,)" Masaru said to Jirou as Jirou breathed heavily.

"Come on Jirou," Jirou said to himself as he rose back to his feet. "I can do this,"

Jirou activated the Ninja Power Star once again and instantly began struggling to fight the flames coming off the Ninja Power Star. Jirou quickly fell to the ground gasping for air as sweat began running down his face.

"(Get up!)" Masaru shouted at Jirou. "(The Demon King would last longer than you at this,)"

Jirou rose back to his feet and spun the Ninja Power Star once again.

"I won't quit," Jirou said to himself. "This isn't just for me,"

Jirou began fighting the flames causing Masaru to begin glowing faintly.

"(Yes, this is it!)" Masaru said in excitement.

Jirou's body suddenly gave out causing Jirou to fall to ground and stopped Masaru from glowing.

"(I was so close,)" Jirou said to Masaru.

"(Yes, you were,)" Masaru said in agreement. "(But that at least showed you that you can unlock the powers of this Ninja Power Star,)"

"(And that's what I'm going to do,)" Jirou said as bells were heard in the distance.

"(What's that racket?)" Masaru said in confusion.

"(Its alarm bells,)" Jirou told Masaru as he leaned up.

"(Something must be wrong at the village,)" Masaru said to Jirou.

"(Yeah, you're right,)" Jirou said as he rose to his feet. "(We should head back and find out,)"

"(No, we cannot stop now!)" Masaru shouted at Jirou.

"(Kiyomi's village is more important right now,)" Jirou said to Masaru.

"(I'm sure the others can handle whatever the problem is,)" Masaru said to Jirou.

Jirou groaned in annoyance and turned back towards the beach.

"(Fine, but we're heading back once I receive a message on my Ninja Comm,)" Jirou told Masaru as he walked back to the beach.

Over at the village, Kiyomi and the other Rangers rushed outside to see what was causing the commotion. Out in the distance smoke could be seen rising into the air. Two men came running up to Kiyomi that appeared to be startled.

"Princess, it's the lion monster again!" One of the men informed Kiyomi.

"Its fine, we'll take care of him," Ben said to the men as he walked past them.

"Several of our men are out there trying to keep him from reaching the village," One of the men told Kiyomi.

"Then we'll go stop him before he gets any closer," Kiyomi said to the men.

"But, what about Jirou?" Logan asked Kiyomi.

"I'm sure he heard the alarm bells," Kiyomi said to Logan. "He'll be right behind us,"

The teens took off running towards the smoke and left the two men behind at the mansion.

"I think we're going to need the Lion Fire Zord again," Jun said to the others as they continued running.

"No, we can't risk anymore damage to my village," Kiyomi told Jun.

"Then what's going to stop the freak from doing the damage himself?" Mason asked Kiyomi.

"We just need to be patient," Kiyomi said to the others as she led them towards a quarry.

The teens came up to the quarry and saw Drillion with fallen ninjas around him down in the quarry. Kiyomi looked around in horror at her people.

"Dad!" Kiyomi screamed as she noticed her father near Drillion.

Drillion noticed Kiyomi and the others up above and snickered.

"This time, I won't be the loser," Drillion said as the toolbox-like object on his left arm opened up.

"Kiyomi, look out!" Kiyomi's father shouted to his daughter as Drillion began firing glowing objects resembling tools at the Rangers.

"Jump!" Ben shouted as he leapt off the edge.

"Never again!" Mason yelled as he jumped after the others.

As the Rangers continued falling, each of the Rangers pulled out their morphers and quickly placed their Ninja Power Stars into them.

"Ninja Spin!" The Rangers cried out activating their morphers.

The Rangers transformed in the blink of an eye as each of them landed safely on the ground while Drillion's attack struck the cliff above them causing an explosion.

"You're going to regret returning to my island," Kiyomi warned Drillion as she pointed her sword towards him.

"Then try and stop me and my new gear," Drillion said as the drill on his right arm began spinning.

Drillion swung his drill creating two glowing white energy slashes and sent them flying towards the Rangers.

"Don't hold back!" Jun yelled to the others as she dived over one of the energy slashes.

Jun placed her Ninja Element Star on her Ninja Star Blade and quickly activated it.

"Ninja Metal Attack!" Jun shouted as she sent a chain towards Drillion.

The chain wrapped around Drillion's right arm causing the drill to stop spinning.

"You need to do better than that," Drillion snickered as he broke the chain with ease using the toolbox on his left arm.

"Crap!" Jun said in astonishment as she watched the chain fade away.

"Now have a taste of this!" Drillion screamed as he let loose a flurry of glowing tools from the toolbox on his left arm.

Jun was hit by the tools and was blown back to the others as they began getting hit by the tools. The six Rangers fell to the ground as Kiyomi's father watched in horror.

"Don't give up Rangers!" Kiyomi's father pleaded to the Rangers as he watched them struggle to their feet.

"We don't need to destroy him," Mason said to the others. "We just need to hold him off until Jirou gets here,"

"Yeah, Mason's right," Beth said in agreement. "He should be here soon,"

"You Rangers won't last long enough," Drillion snarled at the Rangers as he slowly approached them.

On the beach, Jirou was lying in the sand breathing heavily with Masaru still on his wrist. Jirou slowly rose to his feet and heard an explosion in the distance. Jirou looked back towards the village in astonishment.

"(I'm sure your friends are fine,)" Masaru said to Jirou.

"(I just hope they can hold on long enough,)" Jirou muttered as he wiped the sweat from his face.

"(Then get back to work,)" Masaru ordered Jirou.

"(Yes ancestor,)" Jirou said as he nodded.

Jirou closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"(Concentration, courage and hope will help you succeed,)" Masaru reminded Jirou.

"(You're forgetting one more,)" Jirou pointed out to Masaru. "(Friendship,)"

Jirou opened his eyes and shouted as he activated Masaru. Flames began emitting from Masaru as the Ninja Power Star spun.

"(I'm not giving in this time!)" Jirou shouted as the flames began growing stronger.

Jirou started screaming again as the flames surrounded his body.

"(Keep it going!)" Masaru cried out to Jirou as Jirou continued screaming.

"I'm not in this alone," Jirou said to himself in his head. "Everyone is here with me in spirit!"

Jirou's eyes flashed causing Masaru to gasp. The flames suddenly were pulled back into the Ninja Power Star as Jirou stopped screaming. Jirou fell down to his knees gasping for air with sweat running down his face.

"(Jirou, congratulations,)" Masaru said to Jirou.

"(I did it?)" Jirou said in disbelief.

"(Yes, you can now use the Lion Fire Morpher,)" Masaru congratulated Jirou.

Another explosion occurred causing Jirou to turn towards the village. Jirou tore the remains of his shirt off and tossed it to the ground.

"(Ancestor, let's get over there quickly,)" Jirou said to Masaru as he took off running towards the smoke in the distance.

Back at the quarry, Drillion let loose a flurry of tools once again and wiped out the Rangers with ease. Drillion laughed as all six of the Rangers laid on the ground in pain. Ben struggled to get up and fell right back down causing Drillion to laugh even more.

"Now it's time for me to obtain those Power Stars for Galvanax," Drillion said as he began approaching the Rangers.

Mason slowly rose to his feet causing Drillion to come to a halt.

"So, you want more?" Drillion asked Mason.

"I can go all day toolshed," Mason insulted Drillion.

Drillion screamed in anger as he took off running towards Mason.

"Mason, get out of there!" Logan pleaded to Mason.

"I'm going to tear you in half!" Drillion shouted as he prepared to attack Mason.

"Then do it!" Mason demanded as he waited for the attack.

Drillion swung at Mason and hit him.

"Mason!" Kiyomi screamed in concern as she saw the drill sticking through Mason's body.

Mason's body turned to water and fell to the ground astonishing Drillion.

"What's going on?" Ben said in confusion.

"Damn you Blue Ranger!" Drillion yelled in frustration. "You tricked me!"

Drillion suddenly screamed in pain and rolled away revealing that Mason was behind him with his sword in hand.

"I'm not letting you hurt anyone else," Mason announced to Drillion as he placed his Ninja Element Star on his Ninja Star Blade.

"Try and stop me," Drillion growled as he aimed his toolbox towards Mason.

"Ninja Element Star!" Mason shouted as he spun the Power Star on his sword. "Ninja Water Attack!"

A powerful stream of water fired out from the tip of Mason's sword and headed towards Drillion.

"You really think you can beat me with that?" Drillion questioned Mason as he fired another flurry of tools at Mason.

The two battler's attacks collided as the other Rangers watched.

"Any day now!" Mason yelled as he began struggling to hold Drillion's attack back.

"It's over!" Drillion roared at Mason as his attack overpowered Mason's.

Mason began being hit by the tools causing him to demorph. Mason was blown into the air from the attack and began hurtling towards the ground.

"No!" Logan shouted in terror as he watched Mason's body continue falling.

"I tried," Mason murmured to himself as he began dozing off.

Mason suddenly landed safely causing him to come to his senses. Mason looked above him and saw Jirou land with him safely on the ground.

"About time," Mason said as he chuckled.

"It's Jirou!" Jun pointed out to the others as they slowly rose to their feet.

"Thanks for keeping him busy," Jirou said to Mason as he laid Mason on the ground.

"I hope that meditation you did will help finish this guy off," Mason chuckled.

"Oh, I know it will," Jirou told Mason as he revealed the Lion Fire Morpher on his wrist.

"No way!" Drillion cried out in disbelief.

"That's right tough guy, you're not the only lion on this island," Jirou informed Drillion.

"(Let's end this!)" Masaru shouted from within the Lion Fire Morpher.

Jirou pulled out his Ninja Battle Morpher and quickly inserted his Red Ninja Power Star into it.

"Ninja Spin!" Jirou shouted as he activated his morpher.

Jirou quickly transformed before Drillion causing him to begin snarling.

"Can Jirou beat him on his own?" Beth asked the others.

"Time to find out," Logan said as he held his arm in pain.

Jirou held out his left arm and prepared to activate the Lion Fire Morpher.

"Lion Fire, Ninja Spin!" Jirou shouted as he spun the Power Star.

"(Lion Fire Mode Initiated!)" Masaru shouted as flames surrounded Jirou's body.

"What's going on?" Kiyomi wondered as she watched.

The flames faded away from Jirou's legs revealing silver shin guards and red armor on Jirou's legs. The rest of the flames vanished causing more armor to appear on Jirou's upper body. Armor finally formed on Jirou's helmet with a silver headpiece resembling a lion on his forehead.

"Lion Fire Red Ranger!" Jirou shouted as a shockwave released from his body causing rocks to float around him.

"What power!" Mason said in amazement as he slowly leaned up.

"So, you actually achieved the great Lion Fire powers," Drillion snickered. "I will still walk out victorious,"

"This fight has already been decided," Jirou informed Drillion.

A red aura suddenly surrounded Jirou's body.

"You won't be able to keep up with me!" Jirou shouted at Drillion as he dashed towards Drillion in the blink of an eye.

Jirou appeared in front of Drillion and punched Drillion directly in the chest sending him careening into the side of the quarry. Drillion dropped to ground and struggled to get to his feet.

"Damn it, that speed is too much!" Drillion shouted in frustration.

Drillion quickly rose to his feet and began being pummeled by lightning fast punches from Jirou. As each punch connected, shockwaves were sent out damaging the wall of the quarry. Drillion went to strike Jirou with his drill but missed as Jirou dashed out of the way in less than a second.

"You can't handle the heat!" Jirou yelled at Drillion as he rammed into him and sent him skidding across the ground.

Drillion quickly retaliated and fired a barrage of tools from the toolbox on his left arm.

"It's over!" Drillion roared at Jirou.

Jirou noticed the tools beginning to move slower and quickly began firing flaming shurikens at the tools. Jirou's shurikens continued flying towards Drillion and struck him multiple times causing an explosion.

"Insane!" Logan said to the others in amazement.

"This new power is unbelievable!" Ben told the others.

"It didn't just increase Jirou's power, but his speed too!" Jun pointed out to the others.

Drillion burst out of the rubble as he roared loudly.

"I'm not finished yet!" Drillion angrily shouted at Jirou.

Drillion fired a laser blast from the drill on his right arm but missed as Jirou quickly leapt backwards out of the way.

"Lion Fire Armor Star!" Jirou said as he detached the Power Star from his wrist.

Jirou attached the Lion Fire Armor Star to his Ninja Star blade and spun the sword around preparing to attack.

"Ninja Spin!" Jirou shouted as he spun the Power Star causing flames to engulf the blade of his sword.

The flaming blade on Jirou's Ninja Star Blade began growing longer as Jirou raised his sword into the air.

"Lion Fire Flame Strike!" Jirou shouted as he swung his sword down.

The flaming blade struck Drillion and tore through him with ease causing him to explode instantly.

"He did it!" Mason said as he rose to his feet.

"Man this armor is the real deal!" Ben said to Jirou as he and the others walked up to him.

"I know right?" Jirou agreed as he chuckled.

A blast suddenly shot down from the sky and hit Drillion's remains.

"Great, here comes round two!" Logan groaned in annoyance.

"This time, I'll be the last cat standing!" Drillion shouted down at the Rangers.

"Jirou, it might be time for the Lion Fire Zord," Kiyomi told Jirou.

"That's exactly what I was thinking," Jirou said as he pulled out the Lion Fire Zord Star.

Jirou placed the Lion Fire Zord Star on his Ninja Star Blade and activated it.

"Out of the Shadows!" Jirou shouted as the Zord Star began glowing

The Lion Fire Zord flew by overhead as it roared loudly. The Zord landed across from Drillion and roared once more.

"You guys sit back and rest," Jirou said as he leapt into the air.

Jirou landed on top of the Lion Fire Zord and entered the cockpit inside.

"Let's end this guy," Jirou told the Lion Fire Zord as the Zord began moving towards Drillion.

The Lion Fire Zord began firing blasts at Drillion from the cannons mounted on its back but the blasts had no effect on Drillion.

"How are the Lion Fire Zord's attacks not working this time?" Kiyomi asked the others.

"This guy really did change since last time," Beth said to the others as they watched.

"Not even your Lion Fire Zord can stop me!" Drillion shouted as he fired a flurry of tools at the Lion Fire Zord.

The tools began hitting the Lion Fire Zord causing the cockpit inside to rumble.

"(Jirou, use the Lion Fire Zord's other form!)" Masaru informed Jirou.

"(Other form?)" Jirou said in confusion. "(You mean a Megazord Mode?)"

Jirou rose from his seat and pulled his sword out of the console.

"Activate Lion Fire Megazord Formation!" Jirou shouted as he spun the Lion Fire Zord Star once again.

The Lion Fire Zord roared loudly as its eyes began glowing. The Lion Fire Zord began rising up as its arms rotated downwards.

"What's going on?" Drillion asked himself as dark clouds filled the sky.

A large Power Star attached to the top of the Lion Fire Zord and formed a head. The lion head on the Megazord's chest suddenly dropped down and revealed Jirou sitting inside of it.

"Lion Fire Megazord, ready!" Jirou shouted as two large shurikens appeared in the Lion Fire Megazord's hands.

"I'm going to make sure this Zord never wakes up again!" Drillion shouted as his drill began glowing.

Drillion sent two energy slashes towards the Lion Fire Megazord. The attacks bounced off of the Megazord as it began making its way towards Drillion and fizzled out.

"My attacks had no effect!" Drillion exclaimed in astonishment.

"You're in for it now!" Jirou shouted as the Lion Fire Megazord combined the two large shurikens as they became engulfed in flames.

"(Lion Fire Spin Strike!)" Masaru shouted as the Lion Fire Megazord repeatedly threw large flaming shurikens at Drillion.

As Drillion was hit by the last shuriken he fell to the ground in pain.

"Now for the final attack," Jirou said as the Lion Fire Megazord prepared to attack.

"(Lion Fire Slash!)" Jirou and Masaru cried out as the Lion Fire Megazord leapt into the air.

The Lion Fire Megazord transformed back into its normal mode as Jirou landed on top of the Zord. Jirou's Ninja Star Blade began glowing and growing longer as the Lion Fire Zord flew towards Drillion

"(Final Attack!)" Jirou shouted as he swung his sword horizontally and struck Drillion as the Lion Fire Zord rammed him.

Drillion was sent up into the air were exploded while screaming in pain. The Lion Fire Zord transformed back to its Megazord Mode as Jirou landed safely on its shoulder.

"And so begins the next chapter," Jirou said as he placed his Ninja Star Blade in its sheath on his back.

As the sun began setting, Jirou returned to the ground below where the others were waiting and demorphed. Jirou looked over and saw Kiyomi tending to her father. Mason walked over to Jirou and placed his hand on Jirou's shoulder.

"Hey, thanks for saving me back there," Mason thanked Jirou.

"No problem," Jirou said as he smiled. "We're a team and we always need to watch out for each other,"

"I can't believe you actually unlocked the ability to use the Lion Fire Armor!" Jun said to Jirou.

"Hopefully I can use it someday," Ben chuckled as he tipped his hat.

"Are we sure anyone else can even use it?" Beth asked Jirou.

"Only if you can handle the heat," Jirou said as he smiled.

Kiyomi helped her father to his feet and helped him walk over to the others.

"Thank you Rangers for saving my land," Kiyomi's father said to the Rangers.

"You're welcome Grandmaster Ishihara," Jirou said as he bowed to Kiyomi's father.

"Now that you're capable of using the Lion Fire Armor and the Zord, it is best that you keep it," Grandmaster Ishihara told Jirou. "I'm sure it will make defeating Galvanax much easier,"

"I'll be here fixing up the damage the monster caused," Kiyomi informed the others. "So just contact me if you need any help,"

"Then we should get going," Jirou said to the others as he pulled out the Astro Zord Star.

"I can't wait to get back home," Logan said in relief as Jirou summoned the Astro Zord.

"Yeah, I can't wait to see you guys unlock Lion Fire Mode too," Jirou chuckled as he stepped inside the Zord.

"I'm not doing any training once we get back to Dorado Bay!" Beth shouted at Jirou. "I need a break for a few days,"

As Beth walked onto the Astro Zord, the door closed behind her. The Astro Zord ascended into the air and flew off in the blink of an eye leaving Kiyomi with her father at the quarry.

"We should go visit your grandfather one day," Kiyomi's father told Kiyomi as they continued walking back towards the village.

"I don't know if he'd like that," Kiyomi giggled.

"Are you sure?" Kiyomi's father asked her.

On the Galaxy Warriors Ship, Galvanax was struggling to hold in his anger as Madame Odius walked into the room. Madame Odius noticed Galvanax clenching his fist and made her way over to him.

"Your ancient friend failed once again and allowed the Red Ranger to achieve the Lion Fire Armor," Galvanax informed Madame Odius.

"Yes, I know," Madame Odius sighed.

"Well, what is your next plan?" Galvanax asked Madame Odius.

"Give me time and I'm sure I'll think of something," Madame Odius said as she walked towards the door.

Madame Odius stepped out of the room as the door closed behind her.

"Soon that wretched fool will be gone," Madame Odius snickered. "And I will be the one to fear,"

Madame Odius continued down the hallway laughing evilly alone.

"The clock is ticking Galvanax," Madame Odius said as she stepped into her lab.

Madame Odius looked over at her monitor and saw a meteor on the screen.

"Once I obtain that meteor, I will be unstoppable," Madame Odius said as she turned off the monitor.


	18. Chapter 17

Chapter 17: Hear No Evil, See No Evil, Speak Evil

Down at the antique shop, Jirou and Mason were struggling to carry a crate into the shop as Beth sat behind the counter doing her homework. Beth looked up for a moment and saw Mason trip over a rug. Mason quickly caught himself by putting all his weight on his right leg and sighed in relief.

"That was a close one," Mason said as he and Jirou sat the crate down beside the counter.

"Hitoshi would've killed you two had you dropped it," Beth told Mason.

"Everything's fine, no worries," Jirou said as he dusted his hands off.

Mason looked towards the backroom and saw that no one else was around.

"Hey, where's everyone else?" Mason asked Beth.

"Logan never showed up after school," Beth told Mason. "I think Ben went to go check on him though,"

"There's no telling what that dork is up to," Mason chuckled as he sat down.

"I'm going to head downstairs and see what Hitoshi is up to," Jirou said as he walked past the counter and headed into the backroom.

"I'll be down there in a minute," Mason said to Jirou as Jirou headed on downstairs.

Mason looked over at Beth and saw that she was still studying.

"You've been reading that textbook ever since we got here," Mason pointed out to Beth.

"That's because unlike you, I want to be a senior," Beth told Mason as she continued reading.

"But I'm not failing," Mason muttered as he looked away.

Over at an auto shop in the city, Ben was watching Logan dig through a toolbox searching for specific tools. Logan pulled out a screwdriver and sighed as he tossed it to the side. As Logan continued digging through the toolbox, a man walked into the garage and picked up the screwdriver.

"What're you doing Logan?" The man asked Logan.

"Oh, Uncle Andre!" Logan screamed in astonishment.

"I see you're digging through my tools again," Andre said as he tossed the screwdriver back in the toolbox.

"Yeah, I'm just searching for some certain tools," Logan notified his uncle.

"Well I can't let you borrow any tools until you return the ones you've already borrowed," Andre told Logan as he closed the toolbox.

"Are you serious?" Logan asked his uncle.

"I'm sure Hitoshi has some tools at the shop," Ben said to Logan as he patted on Logan's back.

"Nah, let's head by my house and check first," Logan told Ben as they walked underneath the garage door.

As Logan and Ben headed off down the street, Ms. Kay stepped out of an alley holding a shuriken in her hand.

"Now let's see what this shuriken is hiding," Ms. Kay whispered as she threw the shuriken.

The shuriken flew into the garage and headed towards an office where Andre was sitting at a desk.

"What on Earth?" Andre said in confusion as the shuriken struck a phone on his desk.

The shuriken began glowing along with the phone causing Andre to jump out of his seat. Dark smoke began emitting from the shuriken as someone began laughing evilly. A large brown ape-like monster with green telephones on its body emerged from the smoke and let out a loud screech blowing Andre against the wall.

"My ears!" Andre shouted in pain as he covered his ears.

"Hey, let me borrow that voice of yours!" The ape monster cackled as his body began glowing.

Andre screamed in horror as his body began glowing.

"Thank you very much," The ape monster said to Andre using Andre's voice.

The monster ran off chuckling and left Andre lying on the floor in his destroyed office.

"What was that?" Andre asked himself as he rose to his feet.

Across the city at Logan's house, Logan was in his garage gathering up tools as Ben was standing outside leaning against the house. A tower of boxes tumbled over inside the garage and fell onto Logan. Ben looked inside the garage and saw Logan shove a box aside struggling to get up.

"A little help?" Logan asked Ben.

Ben chuckled and walked into the garage and helped Logan to his feet. As Logan picked up one of the boxes is phone began ringing.

"It's my uncle," Logan said to Ben as he pressed a button.

Logan held the phone up to his head as he answered the phone.

"Hey Uncle Andre, is something wrong?" Logan asked his uncle through the phone.

"Get back here to the shop, it's an emergency!" Andre shouted through the phone.

"Alright, I'll swing by there in a second," Logan said to his uncle. "I'm just gathering up the tools,"

"Please hurry!" Andre pleaded to Logan.

Andre suddenly hung up causing Logan to put his phone away.

"My uncle wants me to come back to the auto shop," Logan informed Ben.

"That's fine with me," Ben said to Logan as Logan picked the toolbox.

"After we check on him we'll head back to the antique shop," Logan told Ben as the two headed off down the street.

A few minutes later, Logan and Ben returned to the garage and noticed cop cars and an ambulance in front of the building. Logan handed the toolbox to Ben and headed over towards the ambulance. Andre was sitting on the back on the ambulance being checked on by a paramedic.

"You weren't kidding when you said to hurry," Logan said to his uncle.

"What do you mean?" Andre said in confusion.

"You called me and told me to get back in a hurry," Logan told his uncle.

"I don't remember calling you?" Andre said to Logan in confusion.

"His memory might be fuzzy after what happened," The paramedic pointed out to Logan.

"What happened?" Logan asked the paramedic.

"It was a monster!" Andre cried out to Andre. "It was like a monkey and a phone hybrid,"

Ben walked over and saw that Logan had a worried look on his face.

"I think we should get going," Ben told Logan as he sat the toolbox next to Andre.

"Well we're about to go hang out with our friends," Logan said to his uncle. "Stay safe,"

"I will, don't worry," Andre said to Logan as Logan and Ben walked off.

Hiding in a nearby alley, the monster from earlier was snickering as he eavesdropped on Logan and his uncle.

"Now to get one more thing," The monster snickered as he imitated Logan's voice.

The monster ran out of the alley and began chasing after Logan and Ben.

"Here we go!" The monster snickered as he reached for Logan's Ninja Comm.

"What the heck?" Logan said as he felt his Ninja Comm slide off his wrist.

"Where did this monkey come from?" Ben asked Logan.

"It's definitely the one my uncle was talking about," Logan told Ben.

"I got what I came for," The monster chuckled as he revealed the Ninja Comm in his hand.

"I'm giving you five seconds to hand that back over," Ben told the monster as he pulled out his morpher.

"Then prepare to face Phonepanzee's wrath!" Phonepanzee shouted.

Phonepanzee suddenly took a deep breath and quickly let out screeching sound waves. Logan and Ben covered their ears in pain as the force of the waves blew them back away from Phonepanzee.

"Just to be safe," Phonepanzee said as he approached Logan and Ben.

Phonepanzee took the Ninja Comm off of Ben's wrist and quickly ran off down the street cackling as Logan and Ben lied unconscious on the ground.

Across town at the antique shop, Hitoshi was down in the base working on Masaru. Mason and Jirou walked into the lab and saw Hitoshi working and began approaching him to see what he was working on. Jirou looked over Hitoshi's shoulder and saw Masaru with his back panel taken off.

"What're you doing to him?" Jirou asked Hitoshi.

"I'm trying to modify his language," Hitoshi told Jirou as he continued working.

"So you're trying to make him speak English?" Mason asked Hitoshi.

"Sort of," Hitoshi responded as sat his tool down. "I'm adding a way for him to understand all of us,"

"So he'll be able to understand English," Jirou said as he sat down.

"I'm also upgrading your Ninja Comms when I get the chance," Hitoshi informed Jirou and Mason. "I'll be adding a device that instantly translates anything Masaru says so it sounds like he's speaking English,"

"Nice," Mason smiled as he looked down at Masaru lying on the table.

An alarm suddenly began going off on the computer and caught Hitoshi's attention.

"It's Logan!" Hitoshi told Jirou and Mason.

Hitoshi hit a button on his keyboard and brought up a black screen on the monitor.

"Logan?" Hitoshi asked Logan. "Why can't we see you?"

"Guys, it's bad!" Logan responded. "There's a monster attacking us at the park!"

"We're heading your way now!" Jirou assured Logan as he jumped to his feet.

"Be careful out there!" Hitoshi told Jirou and Mason as they rushed out of the lab.

A few minutes later, the Rangers hurried to the park to help Logan with the monster attack. Jirou came up to the top of a hill and looked around at the areas of the park in the distance. Jirou saw no signs of danger as the others caught up to him.

"Do you see anything?" Jun asked Jirou.

"I'm not seeing any trouble at all," Jirou told the others as he turned towards them.

"Logan, where are you?" Mason asked Logan as he held his Ninja Comm up to his face.

Mason slowly lowered his hand as no one answered his call.

"Something is definitely wrong here," Beth assured the others.

"Stay on your guard," Jun warned the others.

"Ben, are you there?" Mason said into his Ninja Comm as he turned away from the others.

Mason sighed as no one answered.

"Even Ben won't answer," Mason told the others.

"Let's start looking around and hope we find something," Jirou said to the others as he began walking away.

A loud screeching blast suddenly hit Jirou and sent him crashing into Mason.

"What was that?" Beth wondered as she turned around.

Phonepanzee leapt on top of the hill cackling as Mason and Jirou slowly rose back to their feet.

"Ew, that thing is hideous!" Jun yelled as Beth stood beside her.

"Where's our friends?" Mason asked Phonepanzee.

"I left them lying in the streets after I swiped these off of them," Phonepanzee snickered as he revealed Logan and Ben's Ninja Comms.

"Then it was you who contacted us," Jirou said to Phonepanzee.

"That's right," Phonepanzee snickered as he imitated Logan's voice.

Mason looked over his shoulder and noticed a group of Basher Bots beginning to surround him and the other Rangers.

"We fell for a trap," Mason sighed as he pulled out his Ninja Star Blade.

"And now your Ninja Power Stars will be mine!" Phonepanzee screamed as the Basher Bots prepared to attack.

The Rangers began backing towards each other as the Basher Bots approached them.

"We're not done yet," Jirou said as he went to place a Ninja Power Star on his Ninja Star Blade.

Phonepanzee leapt into the air and fired down a screeching burst at the Rangers below. Jirou dropped his Ninja Power Star as the obnoxiously loud screeching pushed him and the others to the ground.

"My ears!" Jun cried in pain as she struggled to cover her ears.

"I can't move!" Beth shouted as the force of the sound waves held her down.

Phonepanzee began screaming even louder causing the ground beneath the Rangers to begin sinking. The Rangers demorphed while still being hit by the sound waves and fainted from the pain. Phonepanzee landed back on the ground breathing heavily as he looked down at the unconscious Rangers.

"Grab them and come with me," Phonepanzee commanded the Basher Bots. "We can use them to mess with the other two and maybe even the green one,"

The Basher Bots picked up Jirou and the others and followed Phonepanzee into the distance as they carried the unconscious Rangers.

In an alley in the city, Logan slowly regained consciousness and noticed Ben standing at the end of the alley. Logan grunted as he rose back to his feet and caught Ben's attention. Ben walked over and helped Logan stay on his feet as Logan began to stumble.

"Careful," Ben warned Logan as he let go of Logan's arm.

"Where's the monster?" Logan asked Ben.

"I don't know, but he took our Ninja Comms," Ben told Logan as he placed his left hand on his right wrist.

"Why would he do that?" Logan wondered.

"Yeah, plus he didn't take our Ninja Power Stars," Ben said to Logan as he pulled out his Gold Ninja Power Star.

"We should get to the shop and see if the others are okay," Logan said as he walked out of the alley.

"There's no telling what that monster did with our Ninja Comms," Ben said to Logan as he followed him down the street.

"I just hope he didn't use them to trick the others in some fashion," Logan sighed as he crossed the street with Ben.

Inside of an abandoned building, Jirou woke up inside of a cage with the others and saw Phonepanzee holding his Ninja Power Star. Jirou rose to his feet and began shaking the cage in frustration. Phonepanzee turned around and saw an angered Jirou glaring at him and snickered.

"You're not so tough without this," Phonepanzee chuckled as he showed Jirou the Red Ninja Power Star.

"You won't get away with this," Jirou assured Phonepanzee as he let go of the cage.

"That's where you're wrong ninja boy," Phonepanzee said as he walked over to Jirou. "I just need to make one call to succeed with my plan,"

Phonepanzee cackled evilly as he shook a Ninja Comm in Jirou's face. Jirou looked down at his wrist and saw that his Ninja Comm was gone.

"No!" Jirou shouted angrily as he kicked the cage in frustration.

Phonepanzee cleared his throat as he activated the Ninja Comm.

"Logan, Ben, if you guys can hear this, please come help me and the others with this monster in the park!" Phonepanzee shouted into the Ninja Comm as he imitated Jirou's voice.

Phonepanzee sat Jirou's Ninja Comm on a table as he chuckled.

"Now to go wait at the park for your friends," Phonepanzee said to Jirou. "I'm sure they headed back to your hideout after I attacked them earlier,"

"Come on Logan, I know you won't fall for this trick," Jirou whispered as he squeezed tightly on the fence.

Down inside of the Ranger's base, Logan and Ben hurried into the lab where Hitoshi was startled while he was working on Masaru. Hitoshi turned around and saw Logan and Ben breathing heavily at the door.

"What're you guys doing here?" Hitoshi asked Logan and Ben.

"We were attacked by a monster," Ben informed Hitoshi.

"Yeah, and he stole our Ninja Comms," Logan told Hitoshi.

"Wait, did you send that message earlier to the others?" Hitoshi questioned Logan.

"No, it had to have been the monster," Logan said to Hitoshi.

"A few minutes ago, another message came in from Jirou," Hitoshi told Logan and Ben. "He said they need help at the park,"

"Are you sure it's Jirou?" Logan asked Hitoshi.

Hitoshi began typing on a keyboard and brought up the latest news reports on the screen.

"I don't think it is," Hitoshi said as he scrolled through the news. "There's no sign of a monster attack in the news,"

"So the monster is trying to trick us," Ben affirmed as he crossed his arms.

"Exactly," Hitoshi agreed as he turned off the monitor.

"We need to think of a plan to trick the monster," Logan said as he began thinking to himself.

"If anyone can think of something, it's you Logan," Ben claimed as he patted on Logan's back.

"Give me a few minutes and I'll see if I can think of something," Logan said to Ben as he walked over to a whiteboard.

Logan began writing on the whiteboard with a marker as Hitoshi and Ben stood back watching.

"My ears are still ringing from that loud monkey's screaming," Ben groaned as he placed his hand over his left ear.

"We need a way to counter those sound waves," Logan murmured to himself as he continued writing on the whiteboard.

"I think I might have an answer," Hitoshi said as he walked over to the whiteboard.

Hitoshi picked up another marker and began drawing on the whiteboard.

"We need sound waves of our own to cancel the monster's out," Hitoshi told Logan and Ben.

"And how are we supposed to emit sound waves that powerful?" Logan asked Hitoshi.

"I think I can handle that," Ben answered as he leaned against the wall. "If we can get some loud speakers that is,"

"That's right, we can use your guitar!" Logan gasped as he turned towards Ben.

"So you'll plug Ben's guitar into a couple of speakers and counter the monster's sound waves," Hitoshi said as he continued writing on the board. "This just might work,"

"Where are we going to get speakers from though?" Ben asked Logan and Hitoshi.

"I think I can figure that out," Logan told Ben as he nodded.

Across the city at the school, Logan and Ben snuck inside and came up to a door at the end of a hallway. Logan quietly opened the door and stepped into the room with Ben right behind him. Logan turned on the light and revealed many stacks of cardboard boxes filling the room.

"Are you sure there are speakers in here?" Ben asked Logan.

"Yeah, this is where they keep decorations and equipment from plays and stage shows," Logan told Ben as he opened a box and looked inside.

Ben moved a stack of boxes aside and saw a large black speaker sitting in the back corner of the room.

"Hey, I found one!" Ben informed Logan as he pulled the speaker out of the corner.

"Good, but we'll need more than just one," Logan grunted as he pulled a heavy box to the side.

"We better hurry," Ben said as he sat the speaker next to the door. "If we get caught, we'll be in big trouble,"

Logan slid another stack of boxes aside and found another large speaker.

"Nice, but we still need a few more," Logan huffed as he pulled the speaker out from the back.

Ben opened up a box and found a stash of smaller speakers.

"Would these work?" Ben asked Logan as he revealed one of the small speakers.

"Yeah, we can do something with those," Logan nodded as Ben carried the box over.

Logan picked up one of the large speakers and began carrying it out of the room.

"Come on, Hitoshi is waiting outside in the car," Logan said to Ben.

Ben picked up the other large speaker along with the box of smaller speakers and followed Logan out of the room. Ben chuckled as he watched Logan struggle down the hall with the speaker.

"You good up there?" Ben asked Logan.

"I'm good," Logan muttered as he struggled to carry the speaker.

Ben and Logan made it outside and loaded the speakers into the trunk of the car.

"We're going to return these, right?" Ben asked Logan.

"If they don't get destroyed," Logan chuckled as he got in the car.

"Alright, let's go get things set up in the park," Hitoshi told Ben and Logan as he hit the gas.

Inside of the abandoned warehouse, Phonepanzee watched as the Basher Bots released Jirou and the others from their cage. The Basher Bots lead the Rangers over to Phonepanzee while they were chained together by their ankles. Phonepanzee suddenly began snickering as he noticed the anger in Jirou's eyes.

"Soon your friends Power Stars will be mine and then I'll have all but one," Phonepanzee told the Rangers.

"Logan won't fall for your little trick," Mason chuckled as he looked away.

"He's smarter than you think," Jun said to Phonepanzee.

"We'll see who's smarter," Phonepanzee snickered as he snapped his fingers.

The Basher Bots started walking and dragged the Rangers along behind them.

"Those Gold and Yellow Ninja Power Stars will be the icing on the cake for Galvanax!" Phonepanzee squealed in excitement.

Out in the park, Hitoshi and Logan were setting up speakers in the trees as Ben was standing under the tree practicing with his guitar. Logan attached a wire to the speaker and dropped down from the tree next to Ben. Hitoshi climbed down and handed Ben a wire with a plug on the end of it.

"Just plug that into your Rockstorm Guitar and you'll rock this monster's world," Hitoshi explained to Ben.

"Got it," Ben nodded as Hitoshi stepped away.

"You get back to the base where it's safe," Logan said to Hitoshi.

"I plan to," Hitoshi chuckled as he began jogging away.

"I'll go wait for the creep to show up and lead him right to you," Logan told Ben.

"Let's get the show on the road," Ben said as he hid behind a tree.

Logan ran off up ahead and left Ben behind. Logan pulled out his morpher and placed his Ninja Power Star on it.

"Ninja Spin!" Logan shouted as he spun the Ninja Power Star on his morpher.

As Logan transformed, he leapt up into the trees to go into hiding. Logan looked out in the distance from a branch on top of a tree and saw no sign of a monster in the area.

"They told me to be here," Logan whispered to himself. "Now where are they?"

Logan turned and faced another direction as Phonepanzee appeared in the area with the Basher Bots behind him.

"Now we play the waiting game," Phonepanzee chuckled as Logan noticed him from the tree.

Logan looked behind Phonepanzee and saw his four friends with black bags over their heads.

"Don't worry guys, I'm going to save you," Logan said as he tightened his grip on his Ninja Star Blade.

"Where are they?" Phonepanzee screeched impatiently.

Phonepanzee turned away as Logan dropped down from the tree.

"I'm right here monkey boy," Logan said to Phonepanzee.

Phonepanzee spun around and gasped when he saw Logan behind him.

"Hey, where's the Gold Ranger?" Phonepanzee asked Logan.

"If you want this, you'll have to come and get it," Logan taunted Phonepanzee as he showed the Yellow Ninja Power Star in his hand.

"Hey!" Phonepanzee screamed as Logan ran off away from Phonepanzee.

Phonepanzee began running after Logan and left the Basher Bots with the other Rangers behind.

"Get back here you brat!" Phonepanzee shouted as he chased after Logan.

Logan ran past the tree Ben was hiding behind and gave Ben a hand gesture. Ben stepped out from behind the tree and startled Phonepanzee.

"There you are Gold Ranger!" Phonepanzee gasped as he began running towards Ben.

"Enough monkeying around!" Ben yelled as he struck his guitar causing loud sound waves to emit from the speakers hidden in the area.

Phonepanzee screamed in pain as he was knocked around by sound waves from every direction.

"My ears are bleeding!" Phonepanzee screamed in pain as he covered his ears.

Ben struck his guitar again, but this time no sound waves were emitted from the speakers.

"What the heck?" Ben said in confusion as he struck his guitar again.

Logan ran back up and saw that one of the speakers was blown out in the tree.

"Time for another idea," Ben told Logan as he unplugged the Rockstorm Guitar from the speakers.

"We need to finish him before his ears stop ringing," Logan informed Ben as he pulled out a Ninja Master Mode Star.

Logan placed the Ninja Master Mode Star on his Ninja Star Blade and quickly activated it.

"Ninja Master Mode!" Logan shouted as armor appeared on him along with his Ninja Star Blade transforming into a Ninja Master Blade.

Logan revved up the saws on his Ninja Master Blade as Ben placed his Storm Star on his guitar.

"Ninja Tornado Attack!" Ben shouted as he swung his guitar causing a tornado to surround Logan.

Phonepanzee rose back to his feet groaning in pain and saw Ben up ahead with a human sized tornado beside him.

"Uh oh," Phonepanzee said in horror as he saw the tornado fly towards him.

"Ninja Master Final Strike!" Logan shouted from inside of the tornado as he spun inside striking Phonepanzee repeatedly with the Ninja Master Blade.

Phonepanzee screamed in pain as the tornado flew past him causing him to explode.

"This phone call is over," Logan said as he returned to his normal form.

Ben caught up to Logan and put his arm over his shoulder.

"We make one heck of a team," Ben cheered with Logan.

"The others are still being held captive by a few Basher Bots," Logan told Ben.

"Then we better go help them out," Ben said as he and Logan went off to find the others.

Back by the tree where Phonepanzee left the Basher Bots, a man in a hoodie saw the Basher Bots holding four people captive. The Basher Bots noticed the man approaching them and readied their weapons to attack. The man blocked one of the Basher Bots attacks and stole the club from the Basher Bot as he kicked it aside.

"Come on you worthless piles of scrap," The man said as he struck another one of the Basher Bots with the weapon destroying it with ease.

The man suddenly hurled three shurikens at the final Basher Bot and hit it in the chest causing it to collapse to the ground motionless. Jirou and the others began struggling to get the chains off of their arms as the man walked up to Jirou. The man pulled the black bag off of Jirou's head and revealed himself to Jirou. Jirou's eyes widened in disbelief as the man struck the chains holding Jirou's arms. Jirou quickly removed the cloth covering his mouth as the man ran off into the forest.

"Seiji!" Jirou shouted as he went to take a step.

Jirou tripped and fell to the ground and caused the others to fall with him.

"Jirou!" Logan yelled as he and Ben ran up to check on them.

"Get me out of these chains," Jirou commanded Logan as he rose up.

"What's wrong?" Logan asked Jirou.

"My brother was just here!" Jirou burst out as Logan struck the cuffs on Jirou's ankles.

"Didn't he die?" Ben asked Jirou.

"That's what I thought too," Jirou said as Logan freed the others.

Logan noticed a box on the ground and picked it up to see what was inside. Logan opened the box and saw the other Rangers' Ninja Power Stars inside along with their Ninja Comms. Jirou quickly grabbed his Red Ninja Power Star and bolted off into the forest.

"Where's Jirou going?" Beth asked Logan.

"Seiji is still alive and just saved you guys," Logan informed Beth.

"Does that mean Ripcon is still alive too?" Mason asked the others.

"I hope not," Jun sighed as Logan handed her the Pink Ninja Power Star and her Ninja Comm.

Out in the forest, Jirou was running full speed searching for his brother. Jirou came up to a cliff with a creek below and turned around as he groaned in frustration. Jirou began heading back towards the park and was suddenly attacked by someone from above. Jirou opened his eyes and saw Seiji holding him down with his hand covering Jirou's mouth.

"Do not come after me," Seiji ordered Jirou. "Galvanax cannot know that I'm still alive,"

Seiji got off of Jirou and began walking away.

"You can't hide forever," Jirou said to his brother.

"I can try," Seiji told Jirou as he continued walking.

"We can help you Seiji!" Jirou shouted as he began following Seiji.

"No you can't," Seiji grunted as he looked over his shoulder at Jirou.

Jirou threw something towards Seiji causing Seiji to come to a halt as it struck the tree beside him. Seiji looked at the tree beside him and saw the Red Ninja Power Star stuck in the tree.

"I'm not telling you to come with me, I'm ordering you to," Jirou told Seiji.

Seiji pulled the Red Ninja Power Star out of the tree and threw it back to Jirou.

"I'm not a Takayama anymore Jirou," Seiji informed Jirou.

"Don't you dare say that," Jirou scolded Seiji. "You can redeem yourself,"

"You would understand if you were there," Seiji told Jirou as the two came up to a small campsite.

Jirou looked around at the campsite as Seiji sat down and placed a log on the burnt ash pile.

"This is where you've been hiding since we defeated Ripcon," Jirou said as he sat down.

"Yeah, now you can leave and never come back," Seiji demanded as he started a fire.

"I'm not leaving without you," Jirou told Seiji as he crossed his arms.

"Then we can rot out here together," Seiji sighed as he leaned back against a tree.

As the sun began setting, Jirou and Seiji continued glaring at each other as the fire between them grew larger.

Inside of her lab, Madame Odius was working on a clock as Galvanax stepped into her lab. Madame Odius set her tool aside and sighed as she turned towards Galvanax.

"That monkey failed," Galvanax told Madame Odius.

"Oh, I know," Madame Odius nodded as she turned back to her desk.

"Your chances of living are decreasing every time one of your spirits fails," Galvanax informed Madame Odius.

"Once this device is ready we will have those Power Stars for certain," Madame Odius said as she revealed the clock to Galvanax.

"We better, or Basher Bots won't be the only things in the trash heap," Galvanax threatened Madame Odius as he stepped out of the lab.

The door closed behind Madame Odius as she squeezed tightly around the handle of her tool.

"You don't know what I'm capable of," Madame Odius snickered as she placed a panel on the clock.


	19. Chapter 18

Chapter 18: Trapped In Time

*() – Brackets indicate that a character speaks a foreign language. In this case, Japanese.*

Early in the morning out in the woods, Seiji yawned loudly as he stretched his arms out and woke up. Seiji opened his eyes and saw Jirou glaring at him on the other side of the remains of the campfire. Seiji sighed as he rose to his feet.

"I see you're still here," Seiji said to Jirou as he looked away.

"I'm still waiting for you to make the right decision," Jirou told Seiji as he crossed his arms.

"Jirou, I know you want me to come with you, but I just can't," Seiji explained to Jirou as he grabbed his jacket off a branch.

"Hiding from Galvanax isn't an excuse," Jirou said to his brother as he rose to his feet. "He will find you and we won't be able to help you if you keep hiding,"

"At least let me tell you something," Seiji sighed as he sat back down.

"Fine, go ahead," Jirou grunted as he rolled his eyes.

"After you were sealed away, I left the village a few years later," Seiji told Jirou. "While I was out on my own, I was possessed by Ripcon's spirit,"

"Why did you leave?" Jirou asked Seiji.

"Everything was going to crap at the village," Seiji informed Jirou. "Barely any food and rebuilding houses was torture,"

"You could've stayed and helped," Jirou said as he rose to his feet.

"I wasn't the only one that left, many people did, including Kiyomi," Seiji told Jirou.

"I know about Kiyomi," Jirou answered as he looked down.

"But after I was possessed, I was taken in by a samurai," Seiji continued. "That samurai raised me like I was his own child, until it finally happened,"

"You killed him and his family," Jirou answered as he saw the horror in Seiji's eyes.

Seiji nodded as his eyes began watering.

"Once Ripcon fully took over, I returned to our village," Seiji muttered as he cried.

"Seiji, please don't tell me you did it," Jirou responded as he approached Seiji.

"I did," Seiji cried as he looked down. "I killed nearly everyone,"

"Nearly?" Jirou said in confusion.

"Uncle Shinji was the only survivor," Seiji informed Jirou. "He escaped and continued his life somewhere else in Japan,"

"Seiji, that wasn't you," Jirou comforted Seiji as he placed his hand on his shoulder. "That was Ripcon,"

"I know, but he still used me," Seiji whimpered.

"He's gone, you're in control now," Jirou told Seiji. "You can turn your life around if you come back to Dorado Bay with me,"

Seiji looked up at Jirou and wiped the tears from his eyes.

"Will the others even accept me after what Ripcon caused?" Seiji asked Jirou.

"I'm sure they will," Jirou smiled as he held his hand out to Seiji.

Seiji grabbed Jirou's hand and was helped to his feet. Seiji instantly hugged Jirou as he began crying again.

"I've lived for centuries because of Ripcon, but I'm glad you're here with me this time," Seiji cried as he hugged Jirou.

"I'm glad you're here too," Jirou said to his brother as he hugged him.

Onboard the Galaxy Warriors ship, Madame Odius entered her lab with a shuriken in hand. Odius looked over at the clock-like device she had been working on and began snickering. As Madame Odius hurled the shuriken towards the device the shuriken began glowing with a black aura. The shuriken struck the device causing the black aura to surround the device.

"That's right, return to us," Madame Odius said as the black aura began forming a body.

A shockwave filled the room as the black aura dissipated from around the large cat-like monster that was formed. The cat monster lowered his arms and revealed an enlarged version of Madame Odius' device embedded in his chest.

"Welcome back," Madame Odius greeted the monster.

"What's going on?" The cat monster said in confusion.

The cat monster placed his paw on his chest and felt the clock-like device on his chest.

"What is this thing?" The cat monster asked Madame Odius.

"That is the key to defeating the Power Rangers," Madame Odius snickered.

Later that morning, the other Rangers were sitting in class working on an assignment. Beth laid her head down on her desk and sighed in boredom. Jun noticed Beth had her head on her desk and lowered her pencil.

"I'm sure he's fine," Jun whispered to Beth.

Beth turned her head towards Jun as she rose back up.

"I agree, but we have no way of checking on him," Beth told Jun as she picked her pencil back up.

"Dad can easily track down his Ninja Power Star," Jun informed Beth as she continued working. "We can find where he's at and go check on him later,"

"Ladies, save the chatting for lunch," Logan requested as he stopped working.

Beth threw her pencil at Logan and pegged him in the back of the head with it. Logan glared back at Beth and saw her looking off in a different direction.

"Knock it off," Logan grumbled at Beth.

Beth rolled her eyes and pulled out another pencil from her bag and continued working on her assignment.

"You're sure taking this assignment seriously," Mason said to Logan as he leaned over towards him.

"I just want to finish it before the end of class," Logan told Mason as he erased an answer off his sheet.

"Just stay calm," Mason advised Logan. "It will help,"

Mason showed his sheet to Logan and revealed that he was finished with his work.

"I shouldn't have stayed up so late," Logan sighed as he continued working.

Out in the city, Jirou and Seiji were walking up the street as a trolley came by stunning Seiji. Jirou looked back at his brother and saw him watch the trolley continue up the street. Jirou began chuckling and caught Seiji's attention.

"What's so funny?" Seiji asked Jirou.

"Have you never ridden one of those?" Jirou asked Seiji.

"No, but I don't really want to," Seiji told Jirou as the two of them continued walking up the street.

"Anyway, we're heading to the shop real quick," Jirou informed Seiji.

"I figured that," Seiji chuckled as he followed his brother.

"Yeah, we need to see if Hitoshi is okay with you staying with us," Jirou said to Seiji.

"He's family, I'm sure he'll be fine," Seiji assured Jirou as he patted on Jirou's back.

"You were also controlled by a demonic spirit that tried to kill us countless times," Jirou pointed out to Seiji. "However, Hitoshi isn't the type of guy that would continue blaming you for that,"

Seiji stared to smile as a cop car sped by blasting its sirens.

"What's going on?" Seiji wondered as he and Jirou turned the corner while people ran past them screaming.

Jirou looked up ahead and saw a line of Kudabots marching towards the cop cars blocking the road.

"He found us!" Seiji gulped as he hid behind the corner.

"No, I don't think they're searching for you," Jirou responded to Seiji as he pulled out his morpher.

"Come on out Rangers!" A large orange cat-like monster hissed as he climbed on top of a cop car. "I know you'll try and save these men!"

The cat monster grabbed a police officer by his collar and pulled him on top of the car with ease.

"This man will look perfect after I claw his face off!" The cat monster screamed as the Kudabots kept the other officers from helping.

A shuriken flew through the air and struck the cat monster in his hand causing him to let go of the police officer.

"I knew you would show up," The cat monster chuckled as he turned around and saw the Red Ranger running toward shim.

"Get to safety officers," Jirou commanded the policemen. "I'll take care of this fur ball,"

"Thank you Red Ranger," A cop thanked Jirou as he ran by him.

"My name is Cat O'clock," Cat O'clock informed Jirou.

"I don't care what your name is," Jirou retaliated as he readied his sword. "I'm just here to stop you from harming the people of this city,"

Cat O'clock leapt off of the car and swiped at Jirou with his right hand. Jirou jumped back and evaded the attack.

"I just realized that you're the only Ranger here," Cat O'clock told Jirou as he faced him.

"I'm more than enough to send you six feet underground," Jirou replied as he took off running towards Cat O'clock.

Cat O'clock swatted Jirou's sword away as Jirou took a swing at him. Lasers shot out of Cat O'clock's eyes and hit Jirou in the chest causing sparks to fly off of his body. Jirou fell to the ground and quickly rose to one knee using his sword as leverage.

"Is that the best you've got?" Jirou antagonized Cat O'clock.

"Oh, I've got a lot more than that!" Cat O'clock shouted as he began running towards Jirou with his claws extended.

"If I had Masaru with me this would already be over," Jirou whispered to himself.

Jirou ducked and avoided Cat O'clock's claw and swiftly struck Cat O'clock in the leg with his sword causing the monster to fall to one knee.

"That little scratch won't stop me," Cat O'clock hissed as he slowly rose back to both feet.

Up the road, Seiji was peeking around the corner watching Jirou fight Cat O'clock.

"Why isn't Jirou attacking?" Seiji asked himself.

Seiji began thinking to himself as Jirou evaded Cat O'clock's claw once again in the distance.

"Is Jirou stalling?" Seiji wondered as he continued watching.

At the high school, Ben sat down at the lunch table with Mason and Logan as the two were eating their lunch. Mason scooped up a spoonful of the peas off his plate and gagged in disgust. Beth and Jun joined the guys as Mason sat his spoon down on his plate.

"Are you not eating?" Mason asked Beth as he noticed she didn't have a plate.

"No, I'm not hungry," Beth told Mason.

"You need to eat something," Ben said to Beth as he picked up his fork. "You'll feel awful before we get out of school,"

"I'll be fine," Beth sighed in annoyance. "I'll eat a fiber bar or something to hold me over,"

Beth heard a video playing behind her and turned around to see what it was. Two girls sitting at another table were watching a news video showing the Red Ranger fighting Cat O'clock.

"Guys, check that out," Beth announced to the others as she pointed at the girl's phone.

Ben turned around and saw the video playing on the phone.

"Why didn't we hear from Hitoshi about this?" Ben asked the others.

"I don't know, but Jirou needs help," Mason answered Ben as he rose from his seat.

"We can't leave in the middle of school!" Logan exclaimed as he grabbed Mason by the arm.

"Jirou is out there fighting that furry freak by himself," Jun told Logan. "We will return to school as if we never left,"

Mason pulled his arm away from Logan and headed towards the exit alongside Ben and Beth.

"I don't want to miss chemistry though!" Logan groaned as he ran after the others.

A few moments later in the city, Cat O'clock and Jirou were still battling each other surrounded by Kudabots. Cat O'clock grabbed Jirou by his right arm and slammed him into the side of a car leaving a dent where he hit. Jirou fell to the ground holding his shoulder as Cat O'clock laughed evilly.

"Come on, I'm not finished with you!" Cat O'clock shouted as he picked Jirou back up.

Cat O'clock slashed Jirou across the chest with his claws making Jirou fall back on to the hood of the car.

"Do something Jirou!" Seiji cried out as he stepped out around the corner.

Cat O'clock looked over and saw Seiji glaring at him.

"Who does this guy think he is?" Cat O'clock asked himself.

"Seiji, get out of here!" Jirou yelled at his brother.

"I'm not going to stand around and watch you get pummeled!" Seiji argued with Jirou. "Not again,"

"Kudabots, go make that brat shut up," Cat O'clock commanded the Kudabots.

The Kudabots began creeping towards Seiji as Cat O'clock turned his attention back to Jirou.

"Now, where were we?" Cat O'clock asked Jirou.

"Leave my brother out of this," Jirou demanded Cat O'clock as he got off the car.

"He's the one who decided to get involved," Cat O'clock told Jirou.

"Don't worry about me Jirou," Seiji said to Jirou as he kicked a Kudabot in the chest. "I can handle this!"

Cat O'clock's claws extended as he readied to attack Jirou.

"Your time is up!" Cat O'clock cackled, as the sunlight reflected off his claws.

As Cat O'clock went to attack Jirou, multiple blasts began hitting Cat O'clock pushing him away from Jirou. The other five Rangers drove by Seiji on their Mega Morph Cycles and wiped out the Kudabots around him with ease using blasts.

"Sorry we're late," Mason apologized to Jirou as he and the others walked over to Jirou.

"It's fine," Jirou chuckled as Cat O'clock rose back to his feet.

"Yes, they're all here now," Cat O'clock whispered to himself. "I can now use Odius' secret weapon she created,"

Seiji looked over at Cat O'clock and noticed the digital timer on his chest began faintly glowing.

"What is that cat doing?" Seiji wondered as the time on the digital device began changing rapidly.

"It's time to send you Rangers somewhere else!" Cat O'clock shouted as his chest began glowing brighter.

"He's using some kind of attack!" Seiji screamed to the others as he took off running towards them.

Jirou noticed the digital clock on Cat O'clock's chest moving rapidly.

"We need to move!" Ben ordered the others as he ran aside.

"Come on Jirou!" Beth said to Jirou as she grabbed his arm.

Cat O'clock fired a powerful beam from his chest and hit Jirou and Beth. In an instant Jirou and Beth vanished leaving a portal behind in their place.

"Jirou!" Seiji yelled in horror.

"Seiji hold on!" Mason shouted at Seiji as Seiji continued running towards the portal.

"Don't go near that thing," Logan warned Seiji. "You don't know what's on the other side,"

"My brother is on the other side!" Seiji cried out as he jumped towards the portal as it began shrinking.

Seiji narrowly made his way into the portal as it disappeared before the other Rangers.

"Man, that took a lot of energy out of me," Cat O'clock muttered as he breathed heavily with sparks shooting out of his chest.

"How do we get the others back?" Jun asked the others.

"I say we take out the cat," Mason said to the others as he pointed his Ninja Star Blade at Cat O'clock.

"Go ahead and kill me!" Cat O'clock snickered. "Then you'll never see your friends again,"

"I doubt that," Mason disagreed as he shook his head.

"Hold on Mason, he might be telling the truth," Ben responded to Mason as he placed his hand on Mason's shoulder.

"All we can do is hope Jirou and the others find their own way out," Jun told the others.

"I've got an idea," Logan announced to the other Rangers as he looked up. "We'll need that device on Cat O'clock's chest though,"

"I'll pry it out for you," Mason assured Logan.

"I'd like to see you try blue boy," Cat O'clock cackled as the digits glitched out on his chest.

In the middle of the sky, a portal suddenly appeared and spat out Jirou and Beth causing them to begin falling towards the ground below. As Beth began screaming in horror, both her and Jirou crashed into tree branches and demorphed as they fell to the ground. Jirou slowly rose up and gasped when he saw Beth lying on the ground unconscious. As Jirou began crawling towards Beth, Jirou heard a scream in the distance coming closer. Jirou looked up as Seiji fell through the branches and slammed into the ground near him.

"Seiji!" Jirou gasped as Seiji struggled to get up.

"Where are we?" Seiji asked Jirou as he leaned up slowly.

"That's not important right now," Jirou told Seiji as he checked on Beth.

Seiji looked over Jirou's shoulder and noticed Beth lying on the ground. Seiji then saw blood seeping through Beth's shirt near her hip.

"She's hurt, bad," Jirou said to Seiji.

"What do we do?" Seiji asked Jirou as he rose to his feet.

Jirou quickly jumped to his feet as leaves began rustling near him. An arrow shot out of a bush in an instant startling Seiji. Seiji caught the arrow with ease as he leaned out of the way.

"Show yourself!" Seiji shouted as he turned towards the bush.

As Jirou turned towards the bush, a group of ninja rose out of the bushes. Jirou's eyes widened as he noticed the symbol on each of the ninja's headbands.

"Seiji, it's our people!" Jirou exclaimed to his brother.

The ninja leading the group gasped in disbelief as he looked over at Jirou.

"(Impossible!)" The ninja responded.

"(Is it really him?)" One of the other ninja asked his ally.

"(I apologize for firing the arrow at you,)" Another Ninja said as he knelt down.

"(Who's in charge?)" Jirou asked the ninjas.

The ninja with a red headband stepped forward as he began removing his mask.

"(I'm sorry my nephews,)" The ninja apologized to Jirou and Seiji as he removed his mask.

"(Shinji!)" Seiji burst out as his eyes widened.

"(Yes, it is I,)" Shinji nodded as he approached Jirou and Seiji.

"(You're bearing our family insignia again,)" Jirou pointed out to his uncle.

"(That's because I was asked to return after Seiji went missing,)" Shinji informed Jirou. "(But, not only has he returned, you have as well!)"

"Then that means we've travelled over four hundred years into the past," Jirou whispered to himself.

Shinji looked behind Jirou and saw Beth lying on the ground badly wounded.

"(Who is this?)" Shinji asked Jirou as he went to check on Beth.

"(A friend, but she's hurt,)" Jirou answered Shinji.

"(We need to get her back to the village then,)" Shinji said as he examined Beth's wound.

"(I'll carry her then,)" Jirou said to his uncle as he knelt down beside Beth. "(You just lead us back there,)"

"(Let's get going,)" Shinji smirked as he rose back to his feet.

As Jirou picked Beth up off the ground, Seiji began following Shinji and his allies into the forest.

"Hang in there, we'll fix you up," Jirou promised Beth as he followed his brother.

Back in the present, Cat O'clock was still battling the other Rangers on his own. Cat O'clock clawed Ben using his metallic claws knocking him away with ease. Mason placed his Ninja Element Star on his sword and activated it as Cat O'clock turned towards him.

"Ninja Metal Attack!" Mason shouted as a chain flew out of the tip of his sword.

"You can't restrain me!" Cat O'clock gloated as he destroyed the chain with ease using his claws.

Logan leapt over Mason's shoulder and landed right in front of Cat O'clock.

"I'll be taking this!" Logan said to Cat O'clock as he went to grab the digital clock embedded on Cat O'clock's chest.

Cat O'clock swiped at Logan and hit him causing Logan to split into four other versions of himself.

"What the heck?" Cat O'clock cried out in astonishment.

The four Logan's leapt onto Cat O'clock and began holding him back.

"Let's get that clock now," Ben said to Jun as he readied his Rockstorm Guitar.

Ben and Jun began running towards Cat O'clock as the clones of Logan distracted him. Cat O'clock swatted one of the Logan's away and noticed Ben and Jun running at him.

"Stay away from me!" Cat O'clock screeched as he fired a powerful laser beam from his eyes.

The laser beam hit both Ben and Jun and exploded on contact blowing them back with ease.

"This cat is getting on my nerves," Ben groaned as he punched the ground angrily.

Back in the past, Shinji led Jirou and Seiji up to the entrance of their village. The gate slowly began opening and revealed Jirou and Seiji's father, Ichirou, on the other side. Ichirou's eyes widened as he saw Seiji and Jirou standing beside Shinji.

"(How is this possible?)" Ichirou asked Jirou.

"(It's a long story,)" Jirou told his father as he approached him while carrying Beth. "(We can talk after my friend is taken care of,)"

Ichirou looked down at Beth in Jirou's arms and saw the wound on her side.

"(Take her to our home,)" Ichirou ordered Jirou. "(I'll go find someone to help her,)"

Jirou nodded and continued on into the village with Seiji following behind him.

"I just realized that dad is so astounded to see us that he and the others haven't mentioned our clothes yet," Seiji whispered to Jirou as they approached the largest building in the village.

"Once we get Beth taken care of, I'm sure they'll start asking questions," Jirou assured Seiji as they entered the building.

Seiji looked around as Jirou continued on through the house and was shocked at the renovation.

"They really fixed this place up since I was last here," Seiji said in amazement.

Shinji entered the castle and came up behind Seiji.

"(Your father is on his way now with someone to help your friend,)" Shinji informed Seiji.

"(Thank goodness,)" Seiji said in relief.

A few moments later, Ichirou slid open a door to a room and revealed Jirou sitting beside Beth who was lying on a mat in the floor. Ichirou stepped out of the doorway and let a woman walk past him. Jirou looked over and saw the woman sit down beside him with a basket full of supplies.

"(Go be with your father,)" The woman told Jirou as she began digging through the basket. "(I'll take care of your friend,)"

"(Thank you,)" Jirou nodded to the woman as he rose to his feet.

Jirou stepped out of the room and closed the door behind him.

"(Kou will make sure your friend lives on,)" Ichirou said to Jirou as he walked alongside him.

"(I'm sure you want to know how I'm here now,)" Jirou sighed as he leaned against the wall.

"(Let's go meet your brother and Shinji at the entrance before we talk,)" Ichirou told Jirou as he continued walking.

Jirou followed his father and headed downstairs where Seiji and Shinji were waiting. Jirou sat down near a table beside Seiji as their father and uncle sat down across from them.

"(Seiji, you've been gone for a few years now,)" Ichirou told his younger son. "(And today you return with your brother,)"

"(It's not what you think,") Seiji stated as he looked down. "(I left because this place was getting worse over time,)"

"(Things definitely turned around apparently,)" Jirou told Seiji.

"(After you ran off, I had to send many of our men out to find your uncle,)" Ichirou explained to Seiji. "(We were defenseless for a few weeks,)"

"(When I returned I helped with a few of my men and repaired damages done to the village,)" Shinji informed Seiji.

"(That's good to hear,)" Seiji sighed in relief.

"(Now Jirou, why aren't you still sealed away with Norio,)" Ichirou asked Jirou as he turned his attention to him.

"(I'm not sure,)" Jirou lied as he shrugged his shoulders. "(I woke up in the forest one day and Seiji was there with me,)"

Seiji placed his left hand over his face in disgust.

"(Maybe the seal couldn't hold Jirou for as long as a demon?)" Shinji guessed as he looked over at Ichirou.

"(That is possible I suppose,)" Ichirou nodded as he thought to himself.

"(It doesn't explain the girl though,)" Shinji pointed out to Ichirou.

Jirou and Seiji nervously looked at each other and gulped.

"(She was a prisoner we found at another village,)" Seiji confessed to his father and uncle.

"Good grief," Jirou whispered to himself in embarrassment.

"(Where was this village?)" Shinji asked Seiji.

"(Far north,)" Seiji told his uncle. "(Very far north,)"

Ichirou sighed as he rose to his feet.

"(I'm just glad my sons have returned,)" Ichirou smiled as he looked down at Jirou and Seiji.

As Ichirou started to walk around the table, a loud horn began blasting from outside.

"(What's going on?)" Jirou asked his father.

"(It's a warning horn,)" Ichirou explained to Jirou. "(Someone is coming,)"

Seiji's eyes widened causing him to begin sweating.

"No, did we really end up here on this date?" Seiji wondered as Jirou looked over at him.

"You know who's coming," Jirou whispered to his brother.

"It's Ripcon," Seiji whimpered as he shivered.

Jirou turned back around and saw that his father and uncle were gone.

"We need to warn them now!" Jirou exclaimed to his brother as he headed for the door.

"We can't!" Seiji shouted at Jirou. "Ripcon has to win Jirou,"

Jirou groaned in frustration.

"I don't care if he wins!" Jirou burst out at Seiji. "I just don't want him to kill our father,"

Jirou stormed outside and left Seiji alone inside.

"Jirou's going to ruin the future if he tells dad," Seiji murmured to himself.

Seiji ran out the door in a hurry and went after Jirou.

Out near the entrance gate, Jirou saw his father and uncle on top of the wall looking out into the distance. Jirou climbed up the ladder and reached the top of the wall and noticed the black clouds out in the distance. Ichirou looked over his shoulder and saw Jirou gazing out at the black clouds.

"(You and Seiji need to go prepare,)" Ichirou ordered Jirou.

"(There's something I need to tell you first,)" Jirou told Ichirou.

"(There's no time for that,)" Ichirou said as he turned away. "(Go get Seiji and get ready,)"

Jirou groaned in frustration and started climbing back down the ladder. As Jirou reached the ground, Seiji ran up breathing heavily.

"Did you tell him?" Seiji asked Jirou.

"No, he won't listen," Jirou muttered as he walked past Seiji.

"Where are you going?" Seiji asked Jirou as he began following him.

"To prepare for battle," Jirou informed Seiji. "Ripcon isn't going to kill my father,"

"You can't kill Ripcon though Jirou!" Seiji told Jirou. "If you do, I could end up not existing and you would change the future,"

"I never said I was going to kill him," Jirou said to Seiji as he walked inside his home.

"Things could still change if you save dad too," Seiji pointed out to Jirou.

"I don't care what changes as long as my father gets to live his life and die naturally!" Jirou shouted at Seiji as he slid a door open.

Jirou walked across the room and opened another door in the wall revealing many weapons and suits hanging on the wall.

"I'll help protect this village, but I won't let you change history," Seiji assured Jirou as he began grabbing equipment.

"Try and stop me," Jirou snickered while grabbing his suit off the wall.

Minutes later, a warning horn began roaring through the village. Kou gasped as she rose to her feet. A ninja slid the door open and ran inside. As the ninja whispered in Kou's ear, Beth began waking up. Beth tried to lean up but fell back down grasping her side in pain.

"(She's awake!") Kou shouted in astonishment.

Beth looked over at Kou in confusion as she couldn't understand Kou.

"What did you say?" Beth said in confusion.

Beth reached for her Ninja Comm on her wrist and pulled a small device off of it. Beth placed the device in her ear as Kou knelt down beside her.

"We need to get to safety," Kou told Beth.

Beth nodded and held her hand out to Kou. Kou took Beth's hand and slowly helped her to her feet.

"We don't have much time," The ninja said to Kou as he helped Kou walk Beth out of the room.

"What's going on here?" Beth whispered to herself.

Up on the wall, Ichirou and Shinji were gazing out in the distance at the black clouds moving closer to the village. Ichirou suddenly noticed something out in the distance and squinted to see what it was. A large flaming boulder was flying towards the village.

"(Get away from the wall!)" Ichirou shouted as men began climbing down the ladder.

"(We don't have time to use the ladder!)" Shinji screamed as he grabbed Ichirou by the arm and leapt off the wall with him.

The large boulder struck the wall creating a gaping hole with ease.

"(Father!)" Jirou shouted as he and Seiji ran up to Ichirou and Shinji who were lying on the ground.

Ichirou rose up and stared at the wall in horror.

"(Another boulder could come flying in at any second,)" Shinji cautioned the others as he rose to his feet.

"(They want us to come to them,)" Jirou explained to his father.

"(Then I'll head out there and destroy the catapult,)" Ichirou responded as Jirou helped him up.

"(No, you need to stay here and make sure no one gets into the village,)" Jirou disagreed with his father.

"(Let us take care of the catapult,)" Seiji begged his father.

"(Fine, just be careful out there,)" Ichirou nodded. "(You'll be outnumbered out there,)"

"(Use the tunnel to get out of the village without being seen,)" Shinji informed Jirou and Seiji.

Jirou and Seiji hurried off towards the entrance to the tunnel and left Ichirou and Shinji behind.

"(Grandmaster, we have enemies approaching!)" A ninja shouted as he ran in through the gaping hole.

"(It has begun,)" Ichirou sighed as he covered his face with his face mask.

Back in the present, Jun and Mason were fighting with a group of Kudabots while Ben and Logan were dealing with Cat O'clock. Cat O'clock continuously fired beams from his eyes at Logan and Ben as they ran towards him. Ben deflected a beam with his Rockstorm Guitar and sent it back towards Cat O'clock. The beam hit Cat O'clock causing sparks to surround his body.

"I can't move now!" Cat O'clock screamed slowly as his body froze in place.

"Now Logan!" Ben shouted as Logan continued running towards Cat O'clock.

"Ninja Battle Morpher, Claw Mode!" Logan shouted as he stabbed his Battle Morpher into Cat O'clock just above the clock in his upper body.

Logan began prying the clock as Cat O'clock stood motionless.

"I almost have it!" Logan yelled as he continued pulling.

Ben placed a Power Star on his Rockstorm Guitar and took aim at Cat O'clock. Mason stabbed a Kudabot through the head causing it to collapse as he looked over at Logan. Logan pulled the clock off of Cat O'clock and jumped away as Ben fired a powerful lightning blast from his Rockstorm Guitar. The blast struck Cat O'clock causing him to scream loudly.

"My time is up!" Cat O'clock shouted as he exploded in the blink of an eye.

Logan walked over to Ben holding the clock as Jun and Mason came up.

"Will that thing save the others?" Jun asked Logan.

"If we can fix it," Logan nodded.

"Then let's get it to the shop and get it fixed," Mason said as he kicked a Kudabot head aside.

Inside of the tunnel leading out of the village, Jirou was leading the way with a torch in his hand. Seiji sighed as he continued following Jirou down the tunnel. Jirou glared over his shoulder and saw that Seiji was worried.

"Seiji, I know you only came to keep me from killing Ripcon," Jirou said to his brother.

"No, I came to keep you from screwing things up," Seiji grumbled as he crossed his arms.

"You mean like killing Ripcon?" Jirou antagonized Seiji.

"If you kill Ripcon, you could lose everything," Seiji warned Jirou. "Even your friends in the future could end up not existing anymore,"

The tunnel began rumbling as Jirou and Seiji came to a halt.

"There's something you need to know Seiji," Jirou sighed as he turned towards his brother. "What you told me isn't true,"

"What are you talking about?" Seiji said in confusion.

"I know what happens today," Jirou told Seiji. "I've read about it in a book about our family,"

"Then why am I remembering killing our father as Ripcon?" Seiji wondered.

"Ripcon is the one unleashing the attack, but he doesn't kill our father," Jirou informed Seiji. "I'm just making sure none of the outcomes change,"

"You could've told me this earlier when we were in the forest," Seiji said to Jirou.

"Ripcon or someone did something to you," Jirou explained to Seiji.

"Are my memories just lies?" Seiji asked himself as Jirou continued walking.

"For now don't worry about it," Jirou insisted. "Focus on winning here today,"

Seiji nodded and continued following Jirou through the tunnel. Jirou and Seiji came up to the end of the tunnel where daylight was barely shining in. Jirou peeked outside and saw that the dark clouds were still above them in the sky.

"Do you see anyone?" Seiji asked Jirou.

Jirou looked in a different direction and gasped as he noticed an army of demonic soldiers marching by.

"There's so many of them!" Jirou uttered as he hid back in the tunnel.

"How many is that exactly?" Seiji asked as he looked outside.

Seiji's eyes widened as he froze in fear. Ripcon was sitting in a throne being carried by a group of demonic soldiers wearing armor similar to the Kudabots.

"It's Ripcon!" Seiji responded to Jirou.

"What about the catapult?" Jirou asked Seiji.

"Yeah, it's being pulled by some of the soldiers in the back," Seiji told Jirou.

"That's good," Jirou sighed in relief. "It will be easier to destroy it,"

"When do we make our move?" Seiji whispered to Jirou.

"When they pass," Jirou informed Seiji as he peeked outside.

As the army passed by, Jirou and Seiji snuck out of the tunnel and began approaching the catapult.

"(Prepare the next launch!)" Ripcon shouted as he held his hand in the air.

"Crap!" Jirou whispered as a demonic soldier began walking towards them.

"We're screwed Jirou," Seiji said to his brother.

"I'm counting on you," Jirou smirked at Seiji.

"What're you doing?" Seiji asked Jirou as he watched Jirou pull up his face mask.

Jirou ran out of hiding and threw three shurikens at the soldier heading towards him and Seiji. The shurikens stuck in the soldier's chest as it screeched in pain catching the attention of other soldiers.

"(Where did that ninja come from?)" Ripcon said in confusion.

Ripcon leapt off his throne and landed on the ground as Jirou began fighting off the soldiers around him. As Jirou was distracting the soldiers, Seiji began cutting through a rope on the catapult with his kunai knife.

"Don't get yourself killed brother," Seiji whispered as he continued cutting the rope.

Jirou stabbed a soldier through the chest with his sword and kicked it off as another soldier came to attack him. Jirou blocked the soldier's sword with his own sword and shoved the soldier back.

"(The rest of you keep marching towards that village!)" Ripcon commanded his soldiers. "(Leave this ninja to me!)"

The soldiers began falling back away from Jirou as Ripcon pulled out his swords.

"(How can one ninja be such a pain for my men?)" Ripcon asked Jirou.

"(I saved this village before, I'll do it again,)" Jirou assured Ripcon.

"(Then here's a warning for you,)" Ripcon warned Jirou. "(Norio is nothing compared to me,)"

Jirou chuckled as he prepared for an attack.

"(You're a joke,)" Jirou said to Ripcon.

Ripcon groaned in frustration as he began running towards Jirou. Jirou dodged Ripcon's swords repeatedly as he backed away from Ripcon. Seiji looked back over at Jirou and saw that he was fighting Ripcon.

"Wait, where did all of his soldiers go?" Seiji said in confusion.

Seiji looked up ahead towards the village and saw the army of soldiers approaching the village.

"Dad can't die," Seiji told himself as he stopped cutting the rope.

"(Be still!)" Ripcon shouted at Jirou as he continued swinging at him.

Seiji looked over at Jirou and saw him narrowly avoid Ripcon's sword.

"Hang on Jirou," Seiji muttered as he pulled a chain out from around his waist.

Seiji climbed onto the catapult and stabbed a knife on the end of the chain into the wooden post of the catapult. Ripcon looked to his side and saw Seiji standing on the catapult.

"(Another one!)" Ripcon gasped as he stopped attacking.

Jirou kicked Ripcon while he was distracted causing him to tumble to the ground.

"(You'll pay for that!)" Ripcon assured Jirou as he rose back to his feet.

A chain suddenly wrapped around Ripcon's right arm.

"(What's this?)" Ripcon said in confusion.

Ripcon turned towards Seiji and saw him standing beside the rope of the catapult.

"(See you later,)" Seiji snickered as he cut the rope with a shuriken.

The catapult launched and sent Ripcon flying into the air screaming. Jirou watched as Ripcon was sent flying towards the village.

"Seiji, he's going to reach the village now!" Jirou shouted at Seiji.

"Then let's get to the tunnel and hurry back," Seiji said as he ran over to Jirou.

Jirou and Seiji hurried into the tunnel and began heading back to the village leaving the damaged catapult behind.

In the village, a group of male ninja were leading children and their parents away from the danger at the wall. Kou and Beth stepped outside and heard people screaming as they were lead to safety. Beth looked out towards the wall and saw smoke and flames rising into the air.

"We just had to end up here," Beth said to herself.

"Follow the others, they'll lead you to the caves to hide," A ninja told Kou and Beth as he turned towards them.

"We need to hurry," Kou said to Beth as she began walking away.

"Jirou, where are you?" Beth wondered as she began following Kou.

Back at the wall Ripcon crashed into the wall and fell to ground in pain. Shinji stabbed one of Ripcon's soldiers and noticed Ripcon slowly rising to his feet. Shinji pulled his sword out of the demon soldier and began slowly backing up towards the wall.

"(Ignorant brats!)" Ripcon shouted angrily.

Ripcon glanced over and saw Shinji sneaking back into the village through the damaged wall.

"(Where do you think you're going ninja?)" Ripcon questioned Shinji as he approached him.

Shinji froze in fear and slowly turned towards Ripcon.

"(Once I finish you, I'll head into that village and kill every last one of your people,)" Ripcon told Shinji.

"(You'll have to get through me to do that,)" Shinji snickered as he readied his sword.

"(That won't be a problem at all,)" Ripcon chuckled as fallen soldiers around him began rising up.

Shinji gasped in horror and began backing away as Ripcon laughed evilly. Shurikens began hitting the fallen soldiers stunning them for a moment. Ripcon groaned in frustration as he looked over and saw a group of ninja run up behind Shinji.

"(Are you alright brother?)" Ichirou asked Shinji.

"(Yes, thanks,)" Shinji nodded as Ichirou stepped up beside him.

"(This is your last warning demon,)" Ichirou warned Ripcon. "(Leave our village, or join the rest of your kind in hell,)"

"(I'm not going anywhere,)" Ripcon growled as he pulled out his two swords.

"(Then prepare for your defeat,)" Ichirou said to Ripcon.

Ripcon's swords suddenly began glowing as he raised them into the air.

"(This is for Norio!)" Ripcon shouted as he prepared to attack.

As Ripcon went to swing his swords, Jirou leapt towards Ripcon and punched Ripcon in the side of the head with a flaming fist. Ripcon was sent careening into a boulder as Jirou stood before his father and uncle breathing heavily with his right fist engulfed in flames.

"(Leave my people alone!)" Jirou screamed at Ripcon.

"(How did he do that?)" Ichirou said in confusion as he stared at the flames surrounding Jirou's fist.

Ripcon rose from the rubble and looked over at Jirou as his eyes glowed brightly.

"(Where did a ninja get that much power?)" Ripcon asked himself.

Seiji caught up to Jirou gasping for air without noticing the fallen soldiers around them.

"Jirou, we're surrounded now!" Seiji warned Jirou.

Jirou looked around him and saw the fallen soldiers approaching him with their swords ready.

"(Father, leave the one in charge to Seiji and I,)" Jirou said to his father.

"(No, I won't let you risk your life like that,)" Ichirou disagreed as he shook his head.

"(Ichirou, you saw what Jirou just did to that demon,)" Shinji told Ichirou. "(I guarantee you he'll be fine,)"

Ichirou sighed as he looked down at the ground.

"(Fine, but please don't get yourself killed,)" Ichirou said to Jirou as he looked back over at Jirou.

"(I'll be fine, I promise,)" Jirou nodded as he began walking towards Ripcon with Seiji right behind him.

"(That leaves the rest of that demon's soldiers to us,)" Shinji said to the ninja standing behind him and Ichirou.

"(Let's save our village!)" Ichirou shouted as he readied his kunai.

Inside the lab of the Rangers' Base, Logan was inspecting the digital clock taken from Cat O'clock. Logan cracked open the clock and saw many circuits burnt out and cringed in disgust. Mason sighed in boredom as he and Ben sat across the room from Logan at a table.

"Come on Logan, you've got to have a way to fix that thing," Mason said to Logan as he looked over at Logan.

"If you would stop bothering me, I could probably find a way to fix it," Logan muttered as he began taking the clock apart.

"If anyone can fix it, it's you Logan," Ben encouraged Logan as he took his hat off and sat it on the table.

"I hope so," Logan sighed as he picked up a tool.

Jun stepped into the lab and saw that Logan was now working on the clock.

"How's he doing?" Jun asked Logan and Ben.

"He pretty much just started," Mason said as he crossed his arms.

"If Logan doesn't hurry, Jirou and the others could be trapped in the past forever," Masaru warned the Rangers as he floated into the lab.

"Are you serious?" Mason asked Masaru.

"And now I'm even more nervous," Logan groaned as he wiped the sweat from his forehead.

In a forest near the village, Ripcon was cautiously walking through the forest with his two swords in hand. Ripcon heard leaves above him rustling and instantly retaliated by firing a blast from his eyes into the air. The blast struck a tree branch turning it to ash.

"(You can't hide from me forever,)" Ripcon warned Jirou and Seiji as he continued through the woods.

Up in the trees above, Jirou and Seiji were watching Ripcon as they hid from him.

"Can't you just morph and beat him that way?" Seiji asked Jirou.

"No, I'm not going to risk that," Jirou whispered as he began climbing down.

"What're you doing?" Seiji questioned Jirou as he watched him climb down.

"Getting things started," Jirou said to Seiji as he pulled out a kunai knife.

Jirou landed on the ground silently behind Ripcon and quickly kicked up a flurry of leaves off the ground. Ripcon gasped and turned around as he was surrounded by leaves and couldn't see anything through them. Ripcon swung his sword through the leaves blowing them away.

"(Your tricks won't fool me,)" Ripcon chuckled as he saw Jirou standing in front of him.

Ripcon swung his sword at Jirou only for it to be blocked by Jirou's kunai knife.

"(That little kunai won't stop my blades!)" Ripcon shouted at Jirou as he swung his other sword at him.

"(Then let's use two!)" Seiji yelled as he dropped down from above and blocked Ripcon's other sword with his kunai knife.

Jirou and Seiji kicked Ripcon in the chest knocking him a few feet back. Jirou leapt towards Ripcon as his right fist was engulfed in flames and went to punch Ripcon. Ripcon blocked Jirou's flaming fist as he crossed his swords causing Jirou to hit the blades. Sparks flew off of Ripcon's swords from the attack and hit the ground.

"Oh no!" Jirou said in astonishment as the dry grass around him and Ripcon went up in flames.

"(Looks like this battle is getting heated up,)" Ripcon chuckled as the flames continued spreading.

"(Those flames will reach the village if we don't put them out,)" Seiji informed Jirou.

"(I know, but we can't do anything right now,)" Jirou explained to Seiji as he backed away from Ripcon.

While Ichirou and Shinji were fighting the fallen soldiers trying to enter the village at the wall, Kou was watching from the entrance of the cave at the chaos that was occurring. Kou gasped as she noticed a smoke cloud beginning to rise over the village. Flames began swallowing the trees near the village leaving Kou speechless.

"Our homes," Kou muttered as a man stepped up beside her.

"Not again, please," The man said as Beth looked over at the man and Kou beginning to cry.

Beth placed her hand over her wound and slowly began rising to her feet.

"I can't sit here and do nothing," Beth said as she cringed in pain while taking a step.

Beth squeezed pas Kou and the man and began walking out towards the village.

"Girl, get back here!" The man shouted at Beth as he watched her walk away.

"I'll go get her," Kou said to the man as she began running towards Beth.

As the fire began entering the village, Beth picked up a bucket filled with water and instantly dropped it as her side began hurting. Beth grasped her side in pain as Kou ran up and grabbed her arm.

"We need to get back to safety," Kou told Beth as the flames grew closer to them.

Beth shook her head and pulled her arm away from Kou. Beth reached down and picked up the bucket once again and dashed the remaining water inside of it on the flames approaching them.

"We can't stop the flames, so let's head back now," Kou insisted as she saw Beth refill the bucket in the nearby pond.

"Do not give up," Beth cringed in pain as she struggled to carry the bucket of water towards the flames.

"What was that?" Kou asked Beth. "I couldn't understand you,"

Beth poured the water onto the flames stopping them from spreading towards her for a moment. A fallen soldier suddenly crashed through the wall startling Beth. The soldier landed on the ground with a thud and lied motionless on the ground.

"Kou, why're you still here?" Ichirou asked Kou.

"This girl ran off, so I tried to stop her," Kou informed Ichirou.

Ichirou looked over at Beth and saw her refill the bucket at the pond.

"She's injured, but still trying to help save our village," Ichirou said as he watched Beth pour the water on the flames.

Ichirou looked over at Kou and saw the worried look on her face.

"Kou, go get more people and help this girl put out these flames," Ichirou ordered Kou.

"Yes sir," Kou nodded as she turned away and ran back towards the cave.

Beth glanced over and saw Ichirou watching her put the flames out.

"Jirou really looks a lot like his dad," Beth whispered to herself as she continued refilling the bucket.

"Ichirou, we need a little help!" Shinji shouted from the wall.

"I'm coming!" Ichirou responded as he dashed off leaving Beth by herself.

Inside of the blazing forest, Jirou was blocking Ripcon's attacks repeatedly with his kunai knife as he backed away from Ripcon. Seiji hurled a chain at Ripcon and wrapped it around his right arm easily disarming Ripcon as he pulled his arm back.

"(This damn chain!)" Ripcon shouted in frustration.

Ripcon sliced the chain with ease using his other sword and freed himself. Ripcon started walking towards Seiji ignoring Jirou.

"(I'm not finished yet!)" Jirou yelled as he ran towards Ripcon.

Ripcon spun around and shoved Jirou to the ground. Ripcon quickly scooped up a handful of ash and embers off the ground. As Jirou rose to his feet, Ripcon hurled the ash and embers into Jirou's face blinding him. Seiji watched Jirou fall to the ground grasping his face in pain as he screamed.

"(He won't interfere for a bit,)" Ripcon chuckled as he turned towards Seiji.

"(You monster,)" Seiji said in disgust as he prepared for Ripcon to attack.

Ripcon dashed towards Seiji and rammed into him with his shoulder and sent Seiji crashing into a tree. Seiji collapsed to the ground gasping for air as the smoke from the flames began growing stronger.

"(Soon none of us will be able to see a thing because of this smoke,)" Ripcon told Seiji as he walked over to him.

Ripcon grabbed Seiji by his collar and picked him up off the ground. Ripcon pulled the kunai knife out of Seiji's hand as he began snickering.

"(However, I think your reason will be a little different,)" Ripcon growled as he pointed the knife at Seiji's right eye.

Jirou rose to his feet reaching his hands out to grab onto something as he heard Ripcon cackling.

"My eyes are useless right now," Jirou whispered to himself. "I need to use my ears for now,"

Jirou slowly began walking towards the sound of Ripcon's laugh while Ripcon prepared to attack Seiji.

"(Go ahead and do it,)" Seiji demanded as he stopped struggling. "(You'll regret it,)"

"(Oh, and why is that?)" Ripcon asked Seiji.

"(Once you see who I am under this mask, you won't hurt me,)" Seiji chuckled.

Ripcon pulled off Seiji's mask revealing his face.

"(You're just a brat,)" Ripcon cackled as he tossed Seiji's mask aside.

"(I'm you!)" Seiji shouted at Ripcon. "(I know you're my past self behind that ugly face!)"

Ripcon suddenly screamed in pain causing him to let go of Seiji. Ripcon reached towards his shoulder and pulled a kunai knife out of his shoulder.

"(You annoying little pest!)" Ripcon lashed out at Jirou as he quickly turned towards him.

Seiji looked at Jirou and saw that his eyes were closed.

"(Are you sure you can keep fighting?)" Seiji asked Jirou.

"(As long as my heart beats, I'm still capable of fighting,)" Jirou told Seiji as he prepared for Ripcon to retaliate.

"(I'll cut you into pieces!)" Ripcon screamed as he ran towards Jirou.

Jirou began smirking and dashed a handful of ash into Ripcon's eyes.

"(My eyes!)" Ripcon yelled in pain as he dropped his swords.

"(Now we're even,)" Jirou said as he hit Ripcon with a swift kicking knocking him to the ground.

Seiji walked back over to Jirou as Ripcon lied on the ground rolling back and forth holding his eyes in pain.

"How are your eyes doing?" Seiji asked Jirou.

"It hurts to open them," Jirou said to his brother as Seiji put Jirou's arm over his shoulder.

"Let's get you to some clean water then and see if that helps at all," Seiji responded as he helped his brother walk back towards the village.

Underneath the antique shop, Logan was putting finishing touches on the clock as the others sat around passing time. Mason looked over at Logan and saw him rise up from his seat. Logan shouted out loud in excitement startling Jun and Ben. Logan picked up the clock and turned towards the others with a smile on his face.

"I've done it!" Logan shouted in excitement.

"Good, now get that thing started," Mason demanded Logan as he walked over towards him.

"Hold on, we don't know exactly what this thing will do," Jun told Mason.

"Yeah, we need to figure out where in time Jirou and the others were sent first," Logan informed Mason.

"How do we do that?" Mason asked Logan.

"I'll just connect this thing to the computer and have it search for screwed up moments in time," Logan told Mason as he plugged the clock into the computer.

"That will take too long," Jun said to Logan as she walked over to the computer.

"What're you doing?" Logan asked Jun as Jun began typing on the keyboard.

"I'm bringing up footage of our fight with the monster from earlier," Jun explained to Logan. "We'll be able to see if anything indicates where he sent the others,"

As the video began playing, Jun watched as Cat O'Clock began preparing to activate the clock on his chest. Jun paused the video on Cat O'Clock and saw the time on the digital clock.

"If that time represents the year they were sent to, then Jirou and the others were sent back to when his family was still alive," Logan told the others.

"Ben, go grab Jirou's book from his room upstairs," Jun ordered Ben.

"Sure thing," Ben nodded as he stepped out of the lab.

"What's that book going to do?" Mason asked Jun.

"It'll help us figure out what's going on where the others are," Jun answered Mason.

In the Takayama Village, Beth and the villagers calmed down the flames saving the village from further damage. Beth sat down on the ground breathing heavily as she grasped her side in pain. As Kou came over to check on Beth, Ichirou returned and saw that the flames were under control.

"Ichirou!" A ninja shouted as he ran into the village. "Jirou and Seiji have returned!"

"Already?" Ichriou said in disbelief as he turned towards the wall.

Seiji walked into the village with Jirou's arm over his shoulder helping him walk. Ichirou looked closely at Jirou and saw that his eyes were closed.

"Jirou," Beth muttered as she saw Seiji walking with Jirou.

"What happened to him?" Ichirou asked Seiji as he hurried over to help with Jirou.

"The demon threw ash into his eyes," Seiji told his father. "We need to clean his eyes before the demon returns,"

"So, the demon is still around?" Ichirou asked Seiji.

"Yeah, but we did the same to him to immobilize him for a moment," Seiji explained to his father.

"Get him to the stream," Ichirou told Seiji.

"Right," Seiji nodded as he began walking away with Jirou.

Beth rose to her feet and hurried over to Seiji.

"I'm sorry you're involved in all of this," Seiji apologized to Beth.

"It's fine," Beth said to Seiji as she put Jirou's other arm over her shoulder. "Let's just get Jirou to the stream,"

"Wait, when did you learn Japanese?" Seiji asked Beth as they carried Jirou.

"Hitoshi upgraded our Ninja Comm's and added an earpiece that pretty much makes everyone sound like they're speaking English," Beth told Seiji as she pointed at her ear.

"And you still can't speak Japanese though," Seiji chuckled as the two continued helping Jirou towards the stream.

As Seiji and Beth approached the stream, the two sat Jirou down beside the stream.

"Get that gunk out of your eyes Jirou," Seiji told Jirou as he helped Jirou lean up.

Jirou dunked his head into the water and opened his eyes.

"Hopefully that ash didn't do any permanent damage," Seiji sighed as he crossed his arms.

Jirou rose his head out of the water gasping for air and wiped the water from his face.

"Everything is still a little blurry," Jirou said to Beth and Seiji as he turned towards them.

"You just need to let your eyes adjust," Beth told Jirou. "You probably had them closed for a while with that ash in there,"

"Keep washing them if you need to," Seiji smiled to Jirou.

"Hopefully Ripcon doesn't attack while we're out here," Jirou said to the others as he continued to wash his eyes.

"Ripcon is here?" Beth said in confusion.

"Yeah, he's the one leading the attack," Seiji informed Beth.

"Then we need to make sure he doesn't attack the village again," Beth told Jirou and Seiji.

As Jirou rose to his feet screaming could be heard coming from the village.

"Are your eyes good now?" Seiji asked Jirou.

"I should be fine now," Jirou nodded as he and Seiji began running towards the village.

"Hey, slow down!" Beth shouted at Jirou and Seiji. "I can't run right now!"

"Jirou, it might be time to bring out the big guns," Seiji said to Jirou as he ran alongside him.

"If it's the only way to run Ripcon out of the village, I'll do it," Jirou told Seiji.

Back in the village, Ichirou was tending to an injured ninja while Shinji was standing guard. Ichirou wrapped a bandage around the injured ninja's arm and slowly helped him to his feet. While looking out in the distance from the top of the wall, Shinji noticed something approaching the village.

"(Brother, we've got trouble!)" Shinji shouted as he looked down at Ichirou.

"(What is it?)" Ichirou asked Shinji.

"(It's the demon in charge!)" Shinji informed Ichirou as he climbed down from the wall.

"(Then the archers better be ready,)" Ichirou said as he clenched his fist.

An explosion suddenly went off blowing another hole through the wall surrounding the village. Ichirou gasped in horror as he saw an energy wave fly through the hole and strike a building causing it to explode in an instant.

"(He's here!)" Shinji gasped as he readied his kunai knife.

Arrows began raining down over the wall onto Ripcon causing no harm to him at all. As arrows continued bouncing off of Ripcon, he began snickering as he walked through the hole in the wall.

"(I will make this village burn to the ground,)" Ripcon growled as his eyes glowed brightly.

Ripcon swung his swords sending two energy waves flying towards other buildings nearby. A building behind Ichirou and Shinji exploded causing debris to begin falling down towards them. Ichirou and Shinji quickly leapt out of the way and avoided the chunk of the building safely.

"(The archers had no effect on him!)" Shinji said in disbelief.

"(I see that,)" Ichirou grunted as he and Shinji began running towards Ripcon.

"(That's right grandmaster, come right at me!)" Ripcon laughed maniacally as he saw Ichirou and Shinji running straight at him.

Ripcon's swords began glowing as Ichirou and Shinji continued running towards him.

"(Double Sword Doom Strike!)" Ripcon shouted as he prepared to attack.

Ripcon gasped as he felt the ground beneath him begin to rumble faintly. A tower of flames shot out of the ground engulfing Ripcon.

"(What was that?)" Shinji asked his brother.

Ichirou turned around and saw the Red Ranger crouching on the roof.

"(Impossible!)" Ichirou gasped as the Red Ranger jumped off the building.

Jirou landed in front of Ripcon as the flames around him died down.

"(No, it can't be!)" Ripcon exclaimed in disbelief.

"(It's one of the Legendary Ninja!)" Shinji said to Ichirou.

"(But why now?)" Ichirou wondered. "(Why didn't they come when Norio attacked?)

Jirou swung his Ninja Star Blade at Ripcon but was easily blocked by Ripcon's two swords.

"(Leave while you still can,)" Jirou threatened Ripcon as he continued pushing against him.

"(Your threats don't scare me,)" Ripcon chuckled as he shoved Jirou back.

Ripcon fired a blast from his eyes at Jirou but the attack was blocked with ease by Jirou's sword. Seiji ran up to Ichirou and Shinji and saw Jirou fighting Ripcon.

"(Incredible!)" Seiji said in amazement as he watched Jirou and Ripcon continue attacking each other with their swords.

"(Seiji, where is your brother?)" Ichirou asked Seiji.

"(He's still at the stream with his friend cleaning out his eyes,)" Seiji told his father.

Behind Seiji, Beth peeked out from behind a building and saw Jirou fighting with Ripcon.

"If only I wasn't hurt, I could help," Beth whispered to herself.

Jirou quickly pulled out his Ninja Battle Morpher and blocked one of Ripcon's swords.

"(Now I've got you,)" Jirou snickered as he kicked Ripcon's feet out from under him.

Ripcon fell to the ground and quickly rolled away as Jirou swung his sword at him. As Jirou struck the ground with his sword, Ripcon jumped back to his feet and fired another blast at Jirou from his eyes. The blast hit Jirou in the chest causing him to fall back to the ground.

"My eyesight is still blurry," Jirou whispered as he began to get up.

Ripcon kicked Jirou knocking him back to the ground.

"(Alone you are nothing!)" Ripcon shouted as he began kicking Jirou.

Beth looked away as Jirou continued being kicked by Ripcon.

"I don't have a choice," Beth gulped as she pulled out her morpher. "I just hope my injury doesn't hinder me too much,"

Beth placed her Ninja Power Star on her Morpher and quickly activated it. As Ichirou and Shinji watched Ripcon kick Jirou, Ichirou noticed a white blur blast past him.

"(And here's another one!)" Ripcon shouted as he went to kick Jirou again.

Ripcon let out a cry in pain all of a sudden causing him to back away from Jirou. Ripcon looked back over at Jirou and saw the White Ranger standing between him and Jirou.

"(Another Legendary Ninja!)" Shinji shouted as he saw the White Ranger.

"What're you doing?" Jirou asked Beth as she helped him up. "You're still hurt,"

"Yeah, so are you apparently," Beth chuckled.

"So there's another one now," Ripcon grumbled.

"We need to finish him now," Jirou said as he prepared his sword.

"I'm not going down that easily," Ripcon snarled as he stabbed his two swords into the ground.

More soldiers resembling the Kudabots began rising from the ground around Ripcon.

"This isn't good," Beth said as she looked over at Jirou.

"In your condition, I doubt we'll last much longer," Jirou told Beth.

"Destroy them and every last person in this village!" Ripcon shouted as the horde of fallen soldiers began screaming and running towards Jirou and Beth.

"Here they come!" Jirou cried out as he readied his sword.

As Jirou and Beth began running towards the fallen soldiers, blasts began hitting the fallen soldiers holding them back.

"No way, it can't be!" Jirou shouted in disbelief.

Over on a rooftop, Mason, Logan, Jun and Ben were aiming down at the fallen soldiers with their Battle Morphers.

"(The others have arrived!)" Ichirou smiled as the other Rangers leapt off the rooftop.

The other Rangers landed next to Jirou and Beth and lined up next to them ready for battle.

"How did you guys find us?" Jirou asked the others.

"Logan repaired that stupid cat's clock that created the portal you guys were sucked into," Mason informed Jirou.

"Then we used your book to help find you while searching for time distortions," Jun told Jirou and Beth.

"We even brought Masaru along," Ben said as he revealed Masaru in his hand.

"Thanks guys," Jirou nodded as he took Masaru from Ben.

Jirou placed Masaru on his left wrist and turned back towards Ripcon.

"You're not wiping out this village," Jirou said to Ripcon. "Not while I'm here!"

"Try and stop me," Ripcon snickered.

"Lion Fire Mode!" Jirou shouted as he activated the Lion Fire Morpher on his wrist.

The Lion Fire Morpher became engulfed in flames causing Jirou to begin glowing.

"What's this?" Ripcon said in confusion as he watched armor form on Jirou's body.

"Lion Fire Red Ranger!" Jirou cried out as he dashed towards the fallen soldiers.

Jirou instantly vanished causing a shockwave blowing the fallen soldiers aside.

"Where did he go?" Ripcon wondered as he looked around.

Jirou instantly appeared in front of Ripcon and began pummeling Ripcon repeatedly with his fists.

"(He's so fast!)" Ichirou said in astonishment.

"(He possesses the legendary Lion Fire Armor!)" Shinji said in disbelief.

Behind the building nearby, a mysterious person wearing a hooded robe was watching Jirou battle Ripcon.

"(Odd, I didn't expect to see the Legendary Ninja here,)" The person whispered.

Seiji looked over his shoulder and noticed the person hiding around the corner. As Seiji began to turn around, the mysterious person disappeared.

"What was that?" Seiji asked himself.

Jirou kicked Ripcon sending him crashing through the wall. With ease, Jirou leapt over the wall and went after Ripcon as the other Rangers continued fighting the fallen soldiers.

"We can't stay here forever," Logan warned the others. "If we do we'll be trapped,"

"Then we better clean this place up before it's too late," Mason said as he stabbed his sword into the ground causing geysers of water to shoot up blasting the fallen soldiers away.

"That won't take long!" Ben shouted as he quickly ran past a group of fallen soldiers striking them with his guitar sending electrical bolts through their bodies.

Logan erupted from the ground below the fallen soldiers and attacked them one after another using his sword. While standing back, Beth shot down fallen soldiers with her Battle Morpher in Bow Mode.

"I can't risk fighting with close combat," Beth said to herself. "Long distance is all I can do for now,"

Beth looked up ahead and saw Jun taking out the fallen soldiers around her with ease using her Ninja Star Blade and Battle Morpher in Blade Mode.

"Come on Jirou, beat that freak again," Beth said as she aimed at another fallen soldier in the distance.

Outside of the village Jirou was still pummeling Ripcon repeatedly with punches. Jirou then hit Ripcon with one powerful punch and sent him skidding along with the ground. As Ripcon struggled to rise to his feet, Jirou pulled his sword out from over his shoulder and placed the Lion Fire Morpher on it.

"(This is the end,)" Jirou nodded as he activated the Morpher.

Jirou's sword began growing as flames surrounded it. Ripcon rose to his feet staring up at the sword as it continued growing longer.

"(Please, I'll leave now," Ripcon begged Jirou.

Ripcon's body began glowing and transformed him back into a human. Jirou gasped as he saw an old man standing in Ripcon's place.

"(You're not Seiji!)" Jirou exclaimed.

"(Even if you do kill me here, I'll just move on to the next vessel I find fitting,)" Ripcon warned Jirou.

Jirou began screaming as he swung the sword downward towards Ripcon.

"(No!)" Ripcon screamed in horror as the shadow of the sword covered him.

The sword slammed into the ground next to Ripcon leaving Ripcon frozen in horror.

"(Leave now before I change my mind,)" Jirou said to Ripcon as his sword returned to normal.

Ripcon transformed back into his demon form as he slowly backed away from Jirou.

"(He's actually letting me go,)" Ripcon whispered to himself as he began coughing.

Ripcon turned away from Jirou and the village and began walking away.

"(This old body is running on fumes any way,)" Ripcon said to himself. "(I should go search for another vessel for now,)"

Jirou watched Ripcon walk away making sure he didn't turn back. As Jirou demorphed, people began screaming in the village. Jirou quickly turned towards the village and began running back as fast as he could. As Jirou ran through the hole in the wall, he noticed people gathered up around something. Out of the corner of his eye, Jirou noticed a mysterious person running on top of the wall.

"(Hang in there Ichirou!)" Shinji shouted as Jirou walked closer to the commotion.

Jirou's eyes widened as he heard Shinji.

"No," Jirou said in horror as he squeezed past the people in front of him.

Jirou gasped in disbelief as he saw Seiji hugging their father's lifeless body. Jirou looked at his father's chest and saw a hole where blood was gushing out. Seiji looked over at Jirou as tears ran down his face.

"(They came out of nowhere,)" Seiji told Jirou as Jirou knelt down beside him. "We were all distracted,"

"(Who did this?)" Jirou asked Seiji as his eyes began watering.

"(Some person in a hooded robe,)" Shinji answered Jirou.

"(I should've been here to protect him,)" Jirou cried as he punched the ground in frustration.

"(Jirou, we don't have much time left,)" Masaru whispered to Jirou from inside of Jirou's top.

"(I'm not leaving until I find out who did this,)" Jirou sobbed.

Up on a rooftop, the other Rangers watched as Jirou and Seiji mourned their father's death.

"We could've saved him," Beth said to the others.

"It was supposed to happen," Jun told Beth as she placed her hand on Beth's shoulder. "Even if we did stop it, there's no telling what would change in the future,"

A beeping noise suddenly began going off and caught Logan's attention. Logan pulled out the clock device and saw that its battery was low.

"Guys, we need to get back to the future now," Logan alerted the others.

"I'll go tell Jirou," Beth said as she demorphed.

Beth slid off the roof and safely landed on the ground. As Beth walked over to Jirou, she saw him hugging his father as he continued crying.

"Jirou, it's time to go," Beth told Jirou as she placed her hand on his shoulder.

Seiji looked at Jirou's face and saw that he was gritting his teeth.

"(I'm sorry Shinji,)" Jirou apologized to his uncle as he gently sat his father down.

"(What is it?)" Shinji asked Jirou.

"(Seiji and I must go,)" Jirou sniffled as he wiped the tears from his eyes.

"(You can't leave already!)" Shinji shouted at Jirou. "(Especially after your father's death!)"

"(We don't have a choice,)" Jirou told Shinji as he hugged his uncle. "(Take care of our people,)"

Shinji's eyes widened as Jirou let go of him and walked past him.

"(Goodbye uncle,)" Seiji said as he bowed to Shinji.

Shinji turned around and watched Jirou walk away with Seiji and Beth beside him.

"(Ichirou, father, I will do my best at keeping our family safe,)" Shinji said as he looked up in the sky. "(I will make sure our family name lives on,)"

A faint flash appeared for a split second over the wall catching Shinji's attention.

"(Hopefully I'll see you boys again one day,)" Shinji said as the sun began setting behind him.

Out in the woods near the Takayama Village, Ripcon approached a person wearing a hooded robe as he snickered. The mysterious person turned towards Ripcon and saw that he was still alive and began giggling.

"(I'm surprised you're not dead,)" The person said to Ripcon.

"(I am as well,)" Ripcon said as he sat down against a tree.

"(Then I guess it's time I do as I promised you,)" The hooded person said as they went to remove their hood.

Ripcon looked over at the mysterious person and snickered when he saw that it was Kiyomi.

"(That's right,)" Ripcon nodded. "(You promised to lead me to that runaway Takayama child,)"

"(And I will,)" Kiyomi smirked as she tossed her knife covered in blood aside.

"(Good,)" Ripcon chuckled as he rose back to his feet.

As Ripcon walked away, Kiyomi looked down at the bloody knife.

"(Who would've thought that Jirou would return?)" Kiyomi asked herself. "(And to think I used to love him,)"

Kiyomi began laughing evilly as she began catching up with Ripcon as the moonlight shined down through the trees.


End file.
